Top 10 Aviation Startups to Watch in 2026

Executive Summary

The aviation industry is undergoing its most significant transformation since the jet age. From electric air taxis preparing for commercial launch in Dubai and Los Angeles to autonomous defence drones combat-proven in Ukraine, a new generation of startups is reshaping how the world flies. Global investment in aviation technology remains resilient, with aerospace and defence tech funding staying active through 2024-2025 even as broader venture markets cooled, according to PitchBook's aerospace and defence tech report.

The startups on this list have raised a combined $10+ billion in funding, hold critical FAA and EASA certifications, and are targeting commercial revenue in 2026-2027. This ranking considers funding scale, certification progress, technological differentiation, and near-term commercial viability as of February 2026.

Key Takeaways

• The top 10 aviation startups have raised over $10 billion in combined funding, with four companies valued above $2 billion.
• Joby Aviation leads with a $10-14.5 billion market cap, $1.2 billion raised in January 2026, and Dubai commercial launch targeted for 2026.
• Archer Aviation raised $1.45 billion in 2025 alone and expects first revenue in Q1 2026 from Middle East operations.
• The FAA's Innovate28 initiative provides a regulatory blueprint for advanced air mobility operations by 2028.
• AI and autonomy are becoming central — Shield AI's Hivemind platform has been combat-proven in 130+ sorties in Ukraine.

Top 10 Aviation Startups to Watch in 2026 — Summary Ranking

Rank	Company	Headquarters	Focus Area	Valuation / Market Cap	Total Raised	Key 2026 Milestone
1	Joby Aviation	Santa Cruz, USA	Electric Air Taxis (eVTOL)	$10-14.5B (public)	$2.8B+	Dubai commercial launch; 4 of 5 FAA stages complete
2	Archer Aviation	San Jose, USA	Electric Air Taxis & Defence	Public (NYSE: ACHR)	$3.36B	First revenue Q1 2026; LA 2028 Olympics air taxi provider
3	Shield AI	San Diego, USA	Autonomous Defence Drones	$5.6B	$1.6B	$300M revenue FY2025; targeting $1B by FY2028
4	Boom Supersonic	Denver, USA	Supersonic Aircraft & Turbines	$1.5B	$700M	Symphony engine testing begins; 130 Overture orders
5	Zipline	San Francisco, USA	Autonomous Drone Delivery	$4.2B	$920M+	1M+ deliveries completed; expanding globally
6	Skydio	San Mateo, USA	Autonomous Enterprise Drones	$2.2-2.5B	$841M	$295M revenue; largest US drone manufacturer
7	ZeroAvia	Hollister, USA	Hydrogen-Electric Powertrains	$1B+ (est.)	$250M+	ZA600 powertrain flight testing; airline partnerships
8	Heart Aerospace	Gothenburg, Sweden	Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft	$1B+ (est.)	$200M+	ES-30 flight testing; United Airlines & Mesa Air orders
9	Vertical Aerospace	Bristol, UK	eVTOL Air Taxis	Public (NYSE: EVTL)	$400M+	VX4 piloted flight tests; airline partnerships with ANA, Virgin Atlantic
10	Kaiban	USA	AI Agent Management for Airlines	Early-stage	Seed	Proof-of-concept deployments; PhocusWire Hot 25 for 2026

1. Joby Aviation — Electric Air Taxis Lead the Certification Race

Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) is the undisputed leader in the electric vertical takeoff and landing sector. The company raised $1.2 billion in January 2026 — comprising $600 million in convertible senior notes and $576 million in stock — bringing total capital raised to over $2.8 billion. The remarkably low 0.75% interest rate on the convertible notes reflects strong investor confidence, as reported by CNBC.

Joby's S4 aircraft carries one pilot and four passengers at up to 200 mph with a 100-mile range and zero operating emissions. The fleet has logged 40,000+ miles across 600+ flights in 2025 alone. Critically, Joby has completed four of five FAA certification stages, with Type Inspection Authorisation expected in 2026.

The company holds a six-year exclusive agreement with Dubai's Road and Transport Authority for commercial air taxi operations launching in 2026, making it likely the first eVTOL company globally to carry paying passengers. Toyota, the largest shareholder with $894 million invested, has embedded 200+ employees to implement the Toyota Production System in Joby's manufacturing operations. ARK Invest's Cathie Wood purchased approximately 780,000 Joby shares during the January 2026 dip, signalling institutional conviction in the platform.

2. Archer Aviation — Defence Pivot Fuels Growth

Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) raised approximately $1.45 billion in 2025 through three rounds, including an $850 million offering following the White House Executive Order to accelerate US eVTOL deployment. Total funding exceeds $3.36 billion, with liquidity reaching approximately $2 billion.

Archer's strategic differentiation lies in its dual civilian-defence approach. A $300 million raise in February 2025, led by BlackRock and Wellington, funded development of a hybrid gas-electric VTOL platform for defence applications in partnership with Anduril. The company expects first revenue in Q1 2026 from Middle East partners and has been named the official air taxi provider for the LA 2028 Olympics.

Manufacturing is ramping at Archer's Georgia facility (ARC), targeting two aircraft per month by end of 2025, with plans to expand air taxi services to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, South Korea, and India in 2026.

3. Shield AI — Autonomous Defence Drones at Scale

Shield AI raised $540 million in its Series F-1 round in 2025 at a $5.6 billion valuation, making it the second-largest US defence tech unicorn, as reported by TechCrunch. Total funding exceeds $1.6 billion from investors including L3Harris, Andreessen Horowitz, and Hanwha Asset Management.

Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software platform enables autonomous drone operations without GPS, communications, or remote piloting — capabilities combat-proven across 130+ sorties in Ukraine. The company generated approximately $300 million in revenue in FY2025 and is targeting $1 billion by FY2028. Its V-BAT vertical takeoff drone and Sentient Vision Systems provide reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and strike capabilities for US and allied defence forces.

4. Boom Supersonic — From Supersonic Jets to AI Data Centre Turbines

Boom Supersonic raised $300 million in December 2025 led by Darsana Capital Partners, with participation from ARK Invest, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Y Combinator, at a $1.5 billion valuation. Total funding exceeds $700 million.

Boom's strategic pivot is notable: it launched "Superpower," a 42-megawatt natural gas turbine for AI data centres sharing 80% parts commonality with its Symphony supersonic engine. First customer Crusoe ordered 29 units for $1.25 billion. Turbine revenues will fund certification of the Overture supersonic airliner, which has 130 orders from United Airlines, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines. Symphony engine testing begins in Colorado in 2026, with 95% of core engine parts already in manufacturing.

5. Zipline — Autonomous Drone Delivery at Global Scale

Zipline has completed over one million autonomous commercial deliveries across multiple countries, establishing itself as the world's largest autonomous delivery operation. Valued at approximately $4.2 billion with over $920 million in total funding, Zipline's fixed-wing drones deliver medical supplies, blood products, and consumer goods across Africa, the US, and expanding global markets.

As TechCrunch reported, Zipline's million-delivery milestone demonstrated how route density and reliability can build viable unit economics for autonomous aviation. The company's operational data on safety, noise, and customer acceptance provides a blueprint for scaling larger eVTOL passenger services. Zipline's instant logistics platform delivers packages in minutes across distances of up to 100 miles, serving hospitals, pharmacies, and retailers.

6. Skydio — Largest US Drone Manufacturer

Skydio has established itself as the largest US drone manufacturer with $295 million in revenue by September 2025 — a 30x growth trajectory over three years. Valued at $2.2-2.5 billion with $841 million in total funding from Andreessen Horowitz, NVIDIA, and strategic partners including KDDI and Axon.

Skydio's autonomous drones are used by every US Department of Defence branch and 200+ public safety agencies for inspection, security, and reconnaissance applications. The company's AI-powered autonomous flight capabilities eliminate the need for skilled pilots, dramatically reducing operational costs for enterprise customers across energy, infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors. Strong Japanese partnerships with KDDI and NTT Docomo are expanding Skydio's international footprint.

7. ZeroAvia — Hydrogen-Electric Zero-Emission Flight

ZeroAvia is leading the development of hydrogen-electric powertrains to achieve zero-emission commercial aviation. With over $250 million in total funding and an estimated valuation exceeding $1 billion, ZeroAvia has flown multi-seat testbed aircraft and is targeting supplemental type certificates that retrofit existing regional aircraft with fuel-cell systems.

The company's ZA600 powertrain targets 10-20 seat aircraft on 200-500 mile routes — a pathway that could bring lower-emissions operations to regional aviation without waiting for entirely new airframes. Airline partners including Alaska Airlines and American Airlines have placed orders, while the UK and US governments have provided grant funding to accelerate certification. ZeroAvia's retrofit approach is strategically significant because it leverages existing airframes and airport infrastructure rather than requiring entirely new ecosystems.

8. Heart Aerospace — Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft

Heart Aerospace, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden with offices in Los Angeles, is developing the ES-30 hybrid-electric regional aircraft designed to carry 30 passengers. With over $200 million in total funding and an estimated valuation exceeding $1 billion, Heart addresses the sweet spot between battery limitations and meaningful fuel-burn reductions for regional routes.

The ES-30 uses battery-electric power for short routes and a hybrid system for extended range, with significant flight testing milestones planned for 2026. United Airlines and Mesa Air have placed orders, positioning Heart as a key player in the decarbonisation of regional aviation. As IATA's SAF outlook indicates, electrified propulsion offers a critical bridge while sustainable aviation fuel production scales this decade.

9. Vertical Aerospace — UK eVTOL Targeting Airline Partnerships

Vertical Aerospace (NYSE: EVTL) is the UK's leading eVTOL developer, building the VX4 — a five-passenger aircraft designed for urban air mobility. The company has raised over $400 million and holds conditional pre-orders worth $6 billion from airline partners including American Airlines, ANA, and Virgin Atlantic.

Vertical's larger aircraft capacity — five passengers versus the four-seat designs from Joby and Archer — differentiates it in the eVTOL market. The company is pursuing EASA certification alongside CAA approval, and its partnerships with Rolls-Royce for propulsion and Honeywell for avionics provide supply chain credibility. Piloted flight testing of the VX4 prototype continues through 2026, with the company targeting initial commercial operations in the 2027-2028 timeframe.

10. Kaiban — AI Agent Management for Airlines

Kaiban represents a different dimension of aviation innovation: operational intelligence. Named one of PhocusWire's Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2026, Kaiban is an AI agent management platform purpose-built for airlines that enables carriers to deploy, train, and manage multiple AI agents across pricing, revenue management, airport logistics, customer experience, and disruption management.

Founded by CEO Dariel Vila, Kaiban's multi-agent architecture allows airlines to automate complex workflows — from group booking optimisation (reducing turnaround from 24-72 hours to minutes) to proactive disruption communication personalised by loyalty tier and language. Unlike generic AI tools, Kaiban stores all AI-generated intelligence in an airline-controlled knowledge base, preventing strategic data leakage to third-party OTAs and GDS systems. The platform integrates with existing airline infrastructure without costly system migrations, addressing a critical pain point for carriers that lost up to 57% of group revenue after pandemic-era staff cuts.

Industry Analysis: Three Structural Themes Defining Aviation Innovation

Three structural themes emerge from this ranking. First, the certification race is now the primary value driver. Joby and Archer hold FAA Part 135 air carrier certificates and have advanced into for-credit testing, while the FAA's Innovate28 initiative provides a regulatory blueprint for initial advanced air mobility operations by 2028.

Second, defence applications are increasingly funding civilian aviation technology. Shield AI's $300 million revenue, Archer's Anduril partnership, Skydio's DoD contracts, and Joby's USAF Agility Prime deliveries demonstrate that military procurement provides revenue certainty while civilian certification processes unfold.

Third, the sustainability imperative is accelerating adoption. Hydrogen-electric (ZeroAvia), hybrid-electric (Heart Aerospace), and fully electric (Joby, Archer, Vertical) propulsion systems address aviation's 2-3% share of global CO2 emissions — a figure under increasing regulatory scrutiny from the EU and ICAO.

Aviation Startup Funding Landscape 2024-2026

Metric	2024	2025	2026 (YTD)	Source
eVTOL Sector Total Funding	$2.1B	$4.8B+	$1.2B+ (Joby alone)	PitchBook
Defence Drone Funding	$1.5B	$2.4B+	Growing	PitchBook
Sustainable Aviation Funding	$800M	$1.2B+	Active	IATA
Global Drone Delivery Market	$1.8B	$3.2B	$5B+ projected	Industry estimates
FAA eVTOL Certifications Expected	0	0	1-2 (Joby, Archer)	FAA Innovate28

Forward Outlook: 12-36 Months

The next 12 to 36 months will determine which aviation startups transition from development-stage companies to commercial operators. Joby's Dubai launch in 2026 and Archer's expected Q1 2026 revenue will provide the industry's first real-world data on passenger demand, unit economics, and operational scalability for eVTOL services.

Simultaneously, the defence sector will continue providing critical revenue for dual-use platforms. Shield AI's trajectory from $300 million to $1 billion in revenue by FY2028, if achieved, would validate autonomous aviation as a commercially viable enterprise rather than a venture-funded experiment.

For hydrogen and hybrid-electric propulsion, the timeline extends further. ZeroAvia and Heart Aerospace face longer certification pathways but target larger addressable markets in regional aviation — where single-aisle aircraft generate the majority of airline revenue and emissions.

Meanwhile, software-driven innovation from Kaiban illustrates that aviation disruption is not limited to hardware. Airlines generating hundreds of billions in annual revenue have significant operational inefficiencies that AI agent platforms can address, from revenue management to disruption handling to group booking automation.

Why This Matters

The aviation startups leading 2026 are not building incremental improvements — they are engineering entirely new categories of flight. Electric air taxis, autonomous military drones, hydrogen-powered regional aircraft, supersonic jets, and AI-optimised airline operations collectively represent a fundamental restructuring of the $3.5 trillion global aviation industry.

For investors, regulators, airlines, and defence establishments, understanding these ten companies is essential. They represent the platforms, propulsion systems, and intelligence layers upon which the next generation of aviation will operate.

Bibliography

1. PitchBook — 2024 Aerospace and Defence Tech Report
2. FAA — Innovate28 Advanced Air Mobility Initiative
3. Joby Aviation — Investor Relations and Certification Updates
4. Archer Aviation — $850M Raise Following White House Executive Order
5. TechCrunch — Shield AI Raises $240M at $5.3B Valuation
6. Boom Supersonic — $300M Raise and Superpower Turbine Launch
7. TechCrunch — Zipline Surpasses 1 Million Autonomous Deliveries
8. Skydio — $295M Revenue and Growth Data
9. IATA — Sustainable Aviation Fuel Outlook
10. PhocusWire — Hot 25 Travel Startups 2026: Kaiban
11. CNBC — Joby Aviation Factory Purchase and Manufacturing Expansion