Although many eyes are on space as orbit evolves into a thriving business ecosystem, Radical it keeps things a little closer to the ground — but not too close. Its high-altitude solar-powered aircraft aim to succeed where Facebook’s infamous Aquila failed by improving the technology and embracing more markets.
It’s hard to believe that Facebook’s ambitious plan to use solar-powered aircraft to provide Internet access to remote locations began a decade ago. But even though those dreams were dashed when the project was scrapped, the idea remained intact.
Ultralight aircraft in the stratosphere can, in theory, stay aloft almost indefinitely by powering their propellers through solar panels. Load it with sensors, telecommunications equipment, or anything else, and you have a versatile, mobile asset that isn’t hampered by orbital mechanics or chaotic weather patterns.
Radical CEO James Thomas suggested the technology simply wasn’t ready before now.
“There’s been interest in these high-alt, high-end aircraft for a long time,” he told TechCrunch in an interview. “It’s not a new idea, but in recent years a lot of the supporting technologies have really matured — batteries, solar power, even advanced computers. Look at where we are now with battery technology: we’re almost at 2x [of Aquila’s]. This puts us in a very strong position.”
The Seattle-based startup has raised a $4.5 million seed round to take it from a small-scale demonstration aircraft, which successfully flew for 24 hours straight recently, to a full-scale one. This full-sized craft would have a wingspan of about 100 feet, but weighed “as much as a person,” which I took to mean 100-200 pounds.
Radical’s founders keep the sub-scale demonstrator aircraft. Image Credits: Radical
Getting the full-scale aircraft into the stratosphere is Radical’s primary goal, but that hasn’t stopped them from identifying potential use cases.
“We think of what we’re developing as a platform for permanent airborne infrastructure,” he said, but for use cases where an orbital element is not practical. For example, orbital images of an area at risk of wildfires might come once an hour — too late for a quick response. But a high-altitude aircraft could provide live surveillance 24/7 for weeks on end, or even change position to monitor new threats.
In terms of telecommunications, although Starlink is fast emerging as the best solution for connectivity in remote areas, it has significant limitations, such as the need for precision ground infrastructure. There are many cases where a 5G flying base station is a better bet (although you still need to work out the backhaul).
Radical was one of my picks from the Y Combinator batch in early 2023 and I wrote at the time:
I’ve always thought the concept was exciting, but I hadn’t yet figured out the business model for it. Anywhere connectivity could be a huge new differentiator for mobile networks, and I bet satellites will be useful, but expensive and congested. Why not a giant glider? It’s just as weird, but I appreciate the ambition.
Apparently I was right!
A nice advantage of working in the stratosphere, Thomas pointed out, is that you have a significantly reduced regulatory burden. Above the closely monitored urban and commercial airspace, it is much simpler to operate and quicker to obtain approvals.
Radical isn’t the only company looking into this issue. the AALTO project at Airbus aims to fill a similar gap in telecommunications coverage, and Skydweller’s much larger platform (only 600 kg of batteries) wants to take on a surveillance and intelligence role with a Palantir partnership.
Thomas said their advantage comes from the close relationship with the companies they work with, who “really want to own the system.” It’s not a one-size-fits-all platform, then, but not entirely on-demand either — it depends on the customer (though it called them customers, not yet the paying type; the company is pre-revenue).
For now, the goal is to get on the air within the next 12 months, proving that the full-sized craft can fly and getting it in a position to potentially start accepting money.
The seed round was led by Scout Ventures, with additional funding from investors including Inflection Mercury Fund and Y Combinator.
