by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:05 AM ET, Tue February 10, 2026
U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer Natilus, which is developing the futuristic blended-wing aircraft, has secured $28 million in Series A funding to build the new aircraft, expected to fly in the early 2030s.
While the company still requires additional funding, it boasts over 570 aircraft orders valued at $24 billion, and its two designs, KONA and HORIZON EVO, are expected to be built for a variety of commercial, defense and air freight purposes.
According to Natilus, the blended-wing aircraft can cut fuel by 30 percent and carbon emissions and operating costs by 50 percent. The new round of funding will support the company's creation of prototypes of the regional cargo plane KONA, expected to make its first flight in the next two years. The U.S. government is also considering KONA for defense purposes.
The HORIZON EVO is the company's commercial jet, expected to compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A321neo.
"We're not just building aircraft. We're reshaping the future of aviation beyond the limitations of the tube-and-wing airframe to fundamentally transform how we transport goods and people," said Aleksey Matyushev, Co-Founder and CEO of Natilus. "With this latest funding and newest personnel additions, we are strongly positioned to bring our family of blended-wing aircraft to market, disrupting the Boeing-Airbus duopoly and bringing much-needed innovation to the aviation industry."
With demand soaring beyond Boeing and Airbus's capacity to build airplanes, the aviation industry is currently facing a shortage of 15,000 airplanes.
Natilus has secured recent financing from Draper Associates, Type One Ventures, The Veterans Fund and Flexport, among others.
The company also recently hired former Boeing executive, Kory Mathews, to serve on its Board of Directors. Mathews was VP of Phantom Works and VP and Chief Engineer of Boeing Military Aircraft.
Natilus isn't the only company considering this new move into the future of aviation, however: aviation giant Airbus and start-up JetZero are also working on their own versions of the blended-wing body style, which, in addition to less emissions and operating costs, would also include a wide, triangular-shaped body with less windows, larger aisles and legroom and a quieter flying experience.
JetZero, however, is going a step further by using only sustainable aviation fuel rather than traditional jet fuel, creating what could be a fully carbon-neutral aircraft.
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