Cosmic Aerospace raises $4.5M for revolutionary electric aircraft development

Cosmic Aerospace, a US-European aerospace startup focusing on electric aircraft, has announced the raise of $4.5 million in a seed funding round. The capital is earmarked to help the company advance the development of its technologies that mark a new dawn in electric aircraft offerings — vehicles capable of flights up to 1,000 kilometres.

As opposed to other electric aircraft on the market today which are banking on future improvements in battery technologies to extend their range, Cosmic stands apart from the crowd in its focus on better engineering of the fuselage and propulsion system.

In developing an electric-powered flight vehicle capable of staying aloft up to 1,000 kilometres, a world’s first according to the company, Cosmic is putting the reality of dumping fossil fuels when it comes to flying on the table.

To put this achievement into perspective, Lilium’s current offer has a range of just over 250 kilometres, inclusive of service range and reserves.

Led by Christopher Chahine, a distinguished research and development engineer and doctor hailing from the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics and the University of Oxford, the foundations of Cosmic Aerospace lie in Chahine’s impatience with the speed of development when it comes to sustainable aviation.

Chahine shared:

“I felt that, despite the knowledge that aviation emissions were an urgent and growing problem, the industry shied away from taking the bold steps needed to explore solutions that are both commercially viable and capable of delivering impact in the near future.”

Complimenting Chahine’s leadership, the Cosmic team is also comprised of  CTO Marshall Gusman, who brings a wealth of experience in aircraft and rocket development from NASA, Kittyhawk, and Boom Supersonic, as well as veteran aircraft of development and former co-founder and CTO of Boom Supersonic, Joe Wilding.

In terms of rollout, Cosmic says that the new funds will boost the development of its unique embedded wing design, a key component in its energy efficiency matrix and that the first full-scale flight demonstrator is on track for its first flight in 2026, with entry into service targeted at the end of the decade. 

Cosmic’s $4.5 million seed round was led by Pale blue dot with Aera VC, Visionaries Club Tomorrow, Fifty Years, Possible Ventures, Syndicate One, Course Corrected, Understorey Capital and Samurai Incubate participating.

Lead image via Cosmic Aerospace.