The verified answer
As of Oct 2026, DEPLOY verifies Grid Aero: 1 model, $26.0M raised. 2 sources back the record.
CategoryDrones
Appears inMilitary & defense drones
Overview
Grid Aero is a San Leandro-based aerospace startup building Lifter-Lite, a low-cost autonomous cargo aircraft designed to carry 2,000–10,000 lbs over thousands of miles in contested environments. Founded in 2024 by a team of aerospace veterans, the company pairs simple, attritable airframes with autonomous software to enable distributed airlift for military, humanitarian, and remote commercial logistics — a 'flying pickup truck' aimed at Pacific-theater contested logistics and austere operations where traditional platforms like the C-130 are too expensive and vulnerable.
Reality check
Cargo (company-claimed)
2,000 to 10,000 lb over thousands of miles on a diesel powertrain.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Funding (reported, unconfirmed)
CEO (reported, unconfirmed)
Co-founders (reported, unconfirmed)
FAA certificate (reported, Jul 2025)
Air Force (reported, unconfirmed)
Partners (reported, unconfirmed)
Data & sources
News coverage
1
Web sources
1
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Partnerships
Every company Grid Aero has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1A2G International1× joint
- 2Everts Air1× joint
Most recent
- Grid Aero x A2G International2025-12-01with A2G Internationaljust announced
- Grid Aero x Everts Air2025-10-01with Everts Airjust announced
Grid Aero on the deployment map
View the global mapGrid Aero has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Grid Aero on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Grid Aero to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Current leadership (4)
- Arthur Dubois Co-founder & CEO, Co-foundersecondary-verified
- Chinmay Patel Co-founder & CTO, Co-foundersecondary-verified
- Alex Kroll Co-founder, Co-founder & former Air Force test pilotsecondary-verified
- Brandon Florian Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Co-foundersecondary-verified
Founders (4)
- Chinmay Patelcofounderno longer at company
- Arthur Duboiscofounderno longer at company
- Alex Krollcofounderno longer at company
- Brandon Floriancofounderno longer at company
Safety record
No incidents on record for Grid Aero.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
Grid Aero in third-party press
Peers
56 peers across 1 segment. Every Grid Aero competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
space(56)
36 companies in this segment · low_concentration (HHI 1188.742650389188) · leader K2 Space at 2172%
- Aetherfluxdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Agile Space Industriesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Airbusdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Albedo Spacedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Astrobotic Technologydirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Astroscaledirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Mentioned on (5)
Registry pages whose text names Grid Aero.
Robots and products (1)
People (4)
Financial state
- Total funding
- $26.0M
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
2 total · 2 just announced
Every company Grid Aero has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- Grid Aero x A2G International2025-12-01with A2G Internationaljust announced
- Grid Aero x Everts Air2025-10-01with Everts Airjust announced
Most-frequent partners
- 1A2G International1× joint
- 2Everts Air1× joint
All 2 partnerships
open in the atlas →- Grid Aero x A2G InternationalwithA2G Internationaldeployment2025-12-01announcedjust announced
- Grid Aero x Everts AirwithEverts Airdeployment2025-10-01announcedjust announced
Funding rounds (2)
Grid Aero’s 2 disclosed rounds, $26M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series A2026-01-26
$20M
- Seed2025-08-01
$6M(reported)
Timeline
Every recorded move in Grid Aero’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2026-01-26Series A raising $20000000
PartnershipGrid Aero x A2G International
2025-12-01Grid Aero partnered with aerial sensor services company A2G International on autonomous logistics for remote areas, combining Grid Aero's Lifter Lite platform with A2G's sensing and remote-area operational expertise.
PartnershipGrid Aero x Everts Air
2025-10-01Grid Aero received a letter of intent from Everts Air to use the Lifter Lite autonomous cargo aircraft to fly cargo and fuel to remote regions in Alaska. The partnership targets remote logistics where conventional crewed aircraft are costly to operate.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 25, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Sources (2)
Common questions
What is Grid Aero?
What does Grid Aero make?
Is Grid Aero publicly traded?
Who competes with Grid Aero?
Who is the CEO of Grid Aero?
How can I invest in Grid Aero?
Where is Grid Aero headquartered?
How much funding has Grid Aero raised?
Who owns Grid Aero?
Where does Grid Aero operate robots?
Is Grid Aero a top robotics company?
Is Grid Aero safe?
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-12
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-12
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Grid Aero.Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Grid Aero from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Grid Aero Raises 0 Million As It Preps To Begin Flying Long-Range Cargo UAS
Aviation Today reports Grid Aero's 0M Series A co-led by Bison Ventures and Geodesic Capital; Lifter Lite prototype in ground/taxi testing preparing for flight; partnerships with…
Aerospace & Defense Startup Grid Aero Raises 0M Series A to Scale Long-Range Autonomous Airlift
AeroMorning covers Grid Aero's 0M Series A; partnerships with Everts Air and Aviation Without Borders for remote/humanitarian logistics; DoD critical technology areas (Contested…
Startup Emerges, Announcing its Autonomous Cargo Aircraft
National Defense Magazine reports Grid Aero's emergence from stealth with the Lifter-Lite autonomous cargo drone; CEO Arthur Dubois presents the aircraft for contested logistics…
This Airborne Robot Pickup Truck Could Be A Lifeline For U.S. Troops In War With China
Forbes profiles Grid Aero's emergence from stealth with the Lifter-Lite prototype, a low-cost autonomous cargo plane designed for Pacific-theater contested logistics; CEO Arthur…
Grid Aero Emerges as New Autonomous Aircraft Player
FLYING magazine covers Grid Aero's clean-sheet autonomous cargo aircraft approach; CEO Arthur Dubois describes Lifter-Lite as a 'flying pickup truck'; AFWERX SBIR Phase II…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/grid-aero.md
- RSS feed: /companies/grid-aero/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/8bd996d7-21ca-4238-8071-99f56f9e6813
- Revision history: /companies/grid-aero/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon25 models
- DJI9 models
- Anduril Industries7 models
- Skydio6 models
- Autel Robotics4 models
- Baykar4 models
Video
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Grid Aero unveiled the Lifter-Lite, a long-range autonomous cargo drone designed to revolutionize military logistics.
Overview of Grid Aero and its Lifter Lite autonomous cargo aircraft for military and commercial logistics.
Performed in California Polytechnic University - Aero Department Aero 465 Lab Final Project Grid Fin Actuation for rocket body landing using an Arduino accelero
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Heat Index
Category contender79/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
Grid Aero draws attention at the 38th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among aerial robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Funded with institutional backing on record. Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Oct 24, 2026