Lachy Groom Invests in Innovative Indian Startup Focused on Year-Long Flight Solutions
Lachy Groom, a notable solo investor, has invested in a startup from Bengaluru that is pursuing an extraordinary goal: sustaining an aircraft in flight for over a year by harnessing energy from ocean winds.
Alteon, established by 20-year-old Samay Sanghvi, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $2.5 million in a pre-seed funding round, led by Groom and supported by Together Fund. The funds will be used to create autonomous aircraft inspired by dynamic soaring, a method used by albatrosses to capture wind energy. According to Sanghvi, Groom was ready to invest within just half an hour of their initial meeting.
Traditional aircraft depend on fuel or battery power for operation. Alteon aims to change this paradigm by developing small, fixed-wing autonomous aircraft that can harvest energy from wind shear over oceans through dynamic soaring, which involves maneuvering between layers of air moving at different speeds.
Sanghvi expressed that if they succeed in creating aircraft capable of remaining airborne for more than a year, the potential applications are vast. The initial focus for the aircraft will be maritime surveillance, providing governments with immediate insights into activities occurring in their waters.
The startup’s preliminary design is for an aircraft with roughly a three-meter wingspan that will glide close to the ocean, rising and cornering through faster air layers, continuously cycling to gain energy. Eventually, Alteon plans to utilize its propellers as turbines, converting some of that wind energy into electricity to recharge onboard batteries, according to Sanghvi.
The startup has yet to showcase its aircraft’s capability to maintain flight solely through energy harvested from dynamic soaring. However, it recently tested its autonomous flight system over the Bay of Bengal, successfully guiding the aircraft through seven O-shaped cycles at speeds exceeding 62 miles per hour and at a height of one meter from the ocean’s surface.
The next significant objective for Alteon is what Sanghvi refers to as “energy-neutral dynamic soaring,” enabling the aircraft to fly indefinitely with its propulsion system turned off while harnessing enough energy from the wind to stay airborne.
Dr. Gabriel Bousquet, an aerospace and robotics engineer based in Silicon Valley who studied dynamic soaring during his PhD at MIT, deemed Alteon’s low-altitude test flight over water a “promising first achievement.” However, he pointed out that the greater challenge lies in demonstrating that the aircraft can reliably extract sufficient wind energy for prolonged flight durations.
Dr. Bousquet remarked on the complexities of low-altitude flight for energy harvesting, citing the need for the aircraft to navigate challenges such as turbulence, waves, spray, rain, and fluctuating lighting conditions, all while continuously adapting to a dynamic ocean surface.
Dr. Bharath Swaminathan, who gained his PhD from IIT Madras studying the dynamics of soaring, acknowledged the established physics behind the concept and praised Alteon’s efforts. He remarked that maintaining an aircraft in flight for multiple days using dynamic soaring would be a significant milestone.
Nonetheless, Swaminathan cautioned that while large-scale wind patterns can be anticipated, the variability of local wind shear and turbulence complicates an aircraft’s ability to continually extract wind energy. Some of these issues, he suggested, may only become apparent through hands-on flight testing.
Groom recognized the inherent technical risks involved with this investment. “Ambitious projects naturally come with challenges,” he stated. “Ultimately, it’s about trusting that Samay and the Alteon team can solve these problems.”
Sanghvi embarked on the journey to establish Alteon immediately after finishing high school in 2023, initially learning aircraft construction by creating and experimenting with radio-controlled models before advancing to early prototypes. He formally launched Alteon in 2025, with initial support from Emergent Ventures and 1517.
Currently, Alteon boasts a 20-member team in Bengaluru and operates from a spacious 10,000-square-foot facility. The startup is aiming to construct four to five aircraft weekly for testing and has conducted over 200 test flights within the past month, Sanghvi shared.
