Aerovy, a Purdue University-connected startup, has completed a round of funding and is expanding industry partnerships around the world. Aerovy develops cloud-based software solutions for the advanced air mobility, or AAM, sector, which includes electric-powered urban and regional aircraft.

CEO Nick Gunady said Aerovy has closed its round of pre-seed funding, raising $800,000 from Purdue Innovates, M25 and the Flywheel Fund.

“The closing of the pre-seed round represents a critical milestone in our missions to unlock the energy equation for AAM and airport electrification,” Gunady said. “This will allow us to deploy to our customers and partners worldwide.”

Gunady said Aerovy is planning a round of seed funding in 2024.

Funders’ perspectives

Tyler Mantel, director, Ventures, Purdue Innovates, said, “Purdue has long been at the forefront of innovation in aviation, and we are proud to play a role in nurturing the groundbreaking technology behind Aerovy. Investing $200,000 into their fundraising round was not just a vote of confidence in their vision, but a testament to our belief in their potential to revolutionize energy demand management.”

Mike Asem, founding partner of M25, said, “We could not be more excited to join Nick Gunady and the Aerovy team on their exciting journey to enable the future of mobility. After many conversations with the team, as well as elite industry experts abroad, it is clear that Aerovy has unique technology with full potential to be a core component of the next wave of transportation infrastructure. As a Purdue alumnus myself, in addition to M25’s focus on startups in the Midwest, we couldn’t be happier about investing in this game-changing technology out of West Lafayette.”

Brian Hatton, venture partner at Flywheel Fund, said, “Flywheel is excited to support Nick Gunady and the Aerovy team with their mission to help the aeronautics industry plan for, monitor and optimize their clean energy production. We are observing dramatic changes in the energy industry and in the possibilities for electric air travel, with Aerovy at the nexus of the two. Our focus on supporting entrepreneurs in Indiana and the Midwest is really shining through with the investment in this game-changing technology.”

New and expanded partnerships

Gunady also announced an expanded partnership between Aerovy and Electro Base, a leading provider of battery container technology. Electro Base is a subsidiary of Electro.Aero, an electric aviation charging technology company based in Perth, Australia. Aerovy and Electro.Aero had established a partnership in early 2023.

“Our continued partnership with Electro.Aero and this new strategic relationship with Electro Base highlights our commitment to advancing the charging landscape for AAM and beyond,” Gunady said in a previous news story. “We’re excited about the possibilities this collaboration unlocks for the future of sustainable transportation.”

Aerovy had previously established worldwide partnerships with Altaport, an automation software company based in Salt Lake City, and SkyScape, a developer of vertiport infrastructure based in Osaka, Japan.

“Through this partnership with SkyScape, Aerovy will deploy cloud software solutions to the Integrated Aviation Center in Hokkaido, Japan,” Gunady said. “Aerovy has additional plans to deploy around the world, including to sites in Paris, Singapore, Dubai and California.”

Gunady said Aerovy also has recently launched additional new partnerships with Apricus Energy Partners and Volatus Infrastructure & Energy Solutions. He said the company is open to additional industrial collaborations.

Aerovy’s software solutions

Aerovy has developed AATLAS and VEMS, two software solutions that address obstacles to advanced air mobility: power grid limitations and operations.

“The AATLAS planning software identifies locations that would attract the most demand, so operators would be able to make back their investments quickly,” Gunady said. “It also assesses the expected usage over time, simulating charging events minute by minute throughout the day. We can size power generation and storage assets, which enables end users to reduce dependence on the grid.”

VEMS operational software automatically connects users with all their assets at infrastructure sites, including chargers and off-grid energy systems.

“Customers will have full control over their infrastructure site without physically needing to be there,” Gunady said. “We have built automation tools to remotely connect with aircraft, charge vehicles, minimize grid cost and dynamically price without any user input.”

Aerovy’s cloud-based software suite is based on work by Purdue graduate and undergraduate students, including Gunady, who is an alumnus of Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and research assistant in Purdue’s Center for Integrated Systems in Aerospace. The team won the 2022 Smart Connected Aviation Student Competition, a Federal Aviation Administration contest, with its entry “Advanced Air Mobility as an Electric Grid Demand Response Asset.”

Gunady and his team disclosed the software innovations to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which applied for intellectual property protection for the work. OTC issued Aerovy an exclusive license to manufacture and sell the technologies.