Although many eyes are on space as Orbit develops into a thriving business ecosystem, Radical is keeping things a little closer to the ground – but not too close. Its solar-powered high-altitude planes aim to succeed where Facebook’s infamous Aquila failed by refining the technology and reaching 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 if those dreams failed when the project failed, the concept remained.
Ultralight aircraft in the stratosphere can theoretically stay aloft almost indefinitely by powering their propellers via solar panels. Pack it with sensors, telecommunications devices, or other things, and you get a versatile, mobile device that isn’t affected by orbital mechanics or chaotic weather conditions.
Radical CEO James Thomas suggested that the technology simply isn’t ready yet.
“There’s been interest in these high-end, cutting-edge aircraft for a long time,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch. “It’s not a new idea, but in the last few years a lot of the supporting technologies have really matured – batteries, solar power and even advanced computers. Look at where we are currently with battery technology: we are almost at 2x [of Aquila’s]. That puts us in a really strong position.”
The Seattle-based startup has raised a $4.5 million seed funding round to grow from a small demonstration aircraft, which it recently successfully flew for 24 hours, to a full-fledged aircraft. This full-size vehicle would have a wingspan of about 100 feet but would weigh “as much as a human,” which I assumed meant 100 to 200 pounds.
The founders of Radical keep the demonstration aircraft in small format.
Radical’s main goal is to send the full-scale aircraft into the stratosphere, but that hasn’t stopped them from exploring possible use cases.
“We view what we are developing as a platform for persistent airborne infrastructure,” he said, but for use cases where an orbital facility is not practical. For example, orbital images of an area at risk of wildfires could arrive once an hour – far too slow for a quick response. But a high-altitude plane could provide live, 24-hour surveillance for weeks or even change location to detect new threats.
In the telecommunications space, while Starlink is quickly becoming the preferred solution for connectivity in remote areas, it has important limitations, such as the need for precise ground infrastructure. There are many cases where a flying 5G station is a better choice (although you still need to work out the backhaul).
Radical was one of my favorites from Y Combinator’s early 2023 series, and I wrote at the time:
I always found the idea compelling, but still needed to find a business model. Connectivity anywhere can be a big 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 strange, but I appreciate the ambition.
Apparently I was right!
A nice advantage of working in the stratosphere, Thomas emphasized, is that the regulatory burden is significantly lower. Operations are much easier and approvals are quicker over highly controlled urban and commercial airspace.
Radical is not the only company addressing this question. The AALTO project at Airbus aims to fill a similar gap in telecommunications coverage, and Skydweller’s much larger platform (600 kilograms of batteries alone) is looking to take on a surveillance and intelligence role as part of a Palantir partnership.
Thomas said their advantage lies in a close relationship with the companies they work with who “really want to own the system.” So it’s not a one-size-fits-all platform, but it’s not purely tailor-made either – it depends on the customer (although he called them customers, they’re not the paying type yet; the company is a pre-revenue company ).
For now, the goal is to get airborne within the next 12 months, prove the full-scale craft can fly, and get it in a position to presumably start accepting money.
The seed round was led by Scout Ventures, with additional funding from investors including Inflection Mercury Fund and Y Combinator.