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Advanced / Transformational Technology

Grid Aero, Startup Developing Autonomous Cargo Aircraft, Exits Stealth

By Cal Biesecker

Monday, August 18th, 2025

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Grid Aero, Startup Developing Autonomous Cargo Aircraft, Exits Stealth

Grid Aero's Lifter-Lite autonomous cargo drone. Photo: Grid Aero

Grid Aero, a new company that is rapidly developing an autonomous cargo drone for routine long-range, high-payload military and commercial missions, emerged from stealth on Monday with $6 million in seed funding. The California-based startup is finishing assembly of its first aircraft, Lifter-Lite, which it describes as the “pickup truck of the skies” that can carry between two-thousand and 10 thousand pounds of cargo thousands of miles to conduct “ultra-low-cost” logistics between Pacific islands and countries. Grid Aero is finishing…

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