Poseidon Aerospace Raises $60M Ahead of First Pilotless Cargo Plane Test
Poseidon Aerospace closed a $60M Series A led by TQ Ventures before the year-end test flight of its uncrewed cargo plane Egret, aiming to cut air cargo costs with autonomous fixed-wing aircraft.
Co-founder and CEO David Zagaynov, who previously worked on logistics at Amazon, told TechCrunch that the company deliberately avoids flashy technology in favor of lowering transport costs. Unlike many advanced air mobility startups, Poseidon is not pursuing vertical takeoff and landing, hydrogen or electric powertrains. Egret and its seaplane variant Heron are fixed-wing aircraft powered by conventional combustion engines.
“It’s really hard to beat the energy density of fuels of anything carbon-related,” Zagaynov said. “Can I make a really good box with wings to move things for super cheap?” He said the company initially targets defense and regional commercial cargo markets, designing planes to serve remote communities and routes with degraded or nonexistent infrastructure. On the commercial side, Poseidon plans to operate its own regional air cargo business rather than sell aircraft, competing for contracts from shippers such as UPS and FedEx.
Eliminating pilots reduces operating costs and allows design changes such as removing cockpits and life support systems, which makes the aircraft lighter and more efficient. Zagaynov said autonomy also offers route flexibility because the company does not have to plan around pilot availability. The startup has expanded into a former Navy hangar in Alameda, California, and plans to hire more staff as it works toward the first full-scale flight. It previously flew a quarter-scale demonstrator called Seagull.
Poseidon received $11 million in seed funding last year. The test flight of the full-size, 50-foot-wingspan Egret is scheduled for late 2026.