Natilus

Natilus

Company type	Private
Industry	Aerospace industry
Founded	2016
Founders	Aleksey Matyushev Anatoly Starikov
Headquarters	San Diego, California
Products	Design of passenger and cargo aircraft
Website	www.natilus.co

Natilus is an aerospace enterprise headquartered in San Diego specializing in the development of innovative blended-wing-body cargo aircraft.

History

Established in April 2016 by Aleksey Matyushev and Anatoly Starikov, Natilus was born from the logistical difficulties experienced by their industrial design company when transporting goods from Asia. They recognized a significant market opportunity: traditional cargo shipping offers affordability but lacks speed, whereas air freight provides rapid delivery at a high cost. Originally operating out of the San Francisco Bay Area, their inaugural prototype was a seaplane. In 2021, the firm transitioned its base to San Diego to capitalize on the region’s aerospace engineering expertise and access to sophisticated wind tunnel testing facilities.

Market

Natilus focuses on the expansive $197 billion worldwide air cargo sector, which is projected to surpass $210 billion by 2027. Additionally, the company envisions entering the $2.2 trillion global cargo shipping industry, anticipated to grow to $4.2 trillion by 2031. Beyond cargo, Natilus also targets the $83.99 billion market for passenger aircraft.

Aircraft

The blended-wing-body designs by Natilus incorporate vertical stabilizers and utilize standard landing gear configurations.

Their regional cargo model, named KONA, is capable of transporting 3.8 metric tons across distances up to 900 nautical miles. Built from carbon fiber and fiberglass composite materials, KONA offers an option for piloted operation and is equipped with Pratt & Whitney jet engines.

The company’s initial passenger plane, HORIZON, supports payloads up to 25 tons with a range extending to 3,500 nautical miles. It accommodates as many as 200 passengers and aims at the narrowbody aircraft segment with an emphasis on reducing carbon emissions within commercial aviation.

Development

Natilus secured $750,000 in venture funding from Tim Draper and benefited from incubation at the Starburst Accelerator in Los Angeles, which specializes in aviation startups.

In November 2017, the firm completed a second seed financing round involving investors such as Starburst Ventures, Seraph Group, Gelt VC, Outpost Capital, and Draper Associates.

Two aircraft models have been announced for production: KONA, a twin-turboprop regional cargo freighter with a capacity of 3.8 tons over 900 nautical miles; and HORIZON, a passenger aircraft designed to carry 25 tons over 3,500 nautical miles. By April 2023, Natilus had conducted multiple successful flights of the KONA subscale prototype. Ameriflight committed to purchasing 20 KONA units as part of broader agreements totaling 460 aircraft valued above $6.8 billion. In February 2025, Canadian charter operator Nolinor Aviation entered into an agreement to acquire several KONA planes.