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.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Founded
HQ
CEO
Co-founders
FAA certification
Air Force contract
Cargo capacity
Partnerships
Headquarters
Hero image candidate
Data & sources
News coverage
1
Web sources
1
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Grid Aero on the deployment map
Where Grid Aero's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
- delivery and inspection drones in United States →
- delivery and inspection drones in California →
- delivery and inspection drones in Ukraine (combat zones) →
- delivery and inspection drones in Nevada →
- delivery and inspection drones in United Kingdom →
- delivery and inspection drones in China →
- The global deployment map →
Relationships
Current leadership (8)
- Arthur Dubois Co-founder & CEOsecondary-verified
- Chinmay Patel Co-founder & CTOsecondary-verified
- Chinmay Patel Co-foundersecondary-verified
- Arthur Dubois Co-foundersecondary-verified
- Alex Kroll Co-foundersecondary-verified
- Alex Kroll Co-founder & former Air Force test pilotsecondary-verified
- Brandon Florian Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officersecondary-verified
- Brandon Florian Co-foundersecondary-verified
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
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_disclosed
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
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)
- Grid Aero x A2G International with A2G Internationaldeploymentannouncedreported, not operationally verified
- Grid Aero x Everts Air with Everts Airdeploymentannouncedreported, not operationally verified
Funding rounds (2)
- Seed
$6M(reported)
- Series A2026-01-26
$20M
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 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 2026-07-25
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-25
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.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
Video
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This is a video supplement to the book "Modern Robotics: Mechanics, Planning, and Control," by Kevin Lynch and Frank Park, Cambridge University Press 2017. Se
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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
A concise look at the QuantaRidge EchoGrid, a modular AI drone grid designed for urban disaster response. Real-world tests reveal how aerial and ground capabili
Reality vs attention
Grid Aero draws attention at the 48th 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: Jul 30, 2026