Poseidon Aerospace, which plans the first test flight of its pilotless cargo plane by year-end, raised a $60M Series A led by TQ Ventures, after an $11M seed (Sean O'Kane/TechCrunch)

Silicon Valley startup Poseidon Aerospace has raised $60 million in a Series A funding round, just ahead of its first test flight of a pilotless cargo plane named Egret. Co-founders David Zagaynov and Parker Tenney, who previously worked at Amazon and Lockheed Martin, aim to make aerologistics more efficient by focusing on low-cost cargo transport.

The company is building a fixed-wing aircraft, Egret, and its seaplane variant, Heron, powered by traditional combustion engines. Unlike many other aviation startups, Poseidon doesn't plan to use vertical takeoff and landing technology or hydrogen and electric powertrains. Instead, the company prioritizes the use of fuel's energy density to achieve a cost-efficient, high-capacity cargo plane.

The first test flight of Egret is expected by the end of the year. Poseidon plans to compete with major air cargo carriers like UPS and FedEx by operating its own regional air cargo business. The company's uncrewed design will also allow for more flexible scheduling, as it won't be limited by the availability of pilots. Poseidon is currently based in an old Navy hanger in Alameda, California and is expanding its team to prepare for the upcoming test flight.

The startup has been granted a pilot program by the Federal Aviation Administration, which further facilitates their path to commercialization.