# Michael Norcia

> Michael Norcia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pyka, the world's first FAA-certified autonomous electric aviation company. Based in Alameda, California, Pyka builds large-scale autonomous electric aircraft for agricultural crop protection and cargo logistics. Norcia — a UC Davis applied physics grad who cut his teeth engineering firmware and power systems at Zee Aero, Joby Aviation, and Kittyhawk — founded Pyka in 2017 (Y Combinator S17) with a pragmatic thesis: skip the flying cars, solve the problems aviation already has. Today Pyka's Pelican aircraft spray hundreds of acres per hour across the US, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Brazil, and the company is expanding into defense with a new platform called DropShip.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Pyka
- **Organizations:** Pyka, Y Combinator
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Applied Physics (Computational Physics), University of California, Davis
- **Known for:** Co-founded Pyka in 2017, building it into the world's first FAA-certified autonomous electric aviation company, Raised $95.43M total funding including $40M Series B in September 2024, Received FAA nationwide authorization for autonomous electric commercial crop-dusting (2023) — a first in US aviation

## Career timeline

- **2014** — Graduated UC Davis with degree in Applied Physics
- **2014-2016** — Firmware and power systems engineering at Zee Aero (Google's secret flying car project)
- **2016-2017** — Engineering roles at Joby Aviation and Kittyhawk/Cora on electric VTOL aircraft
- **2017** — Co-founded Pyka; accepted into Y Combinator Summer 2017 batch
- **2022** — Pyka raises $37M Series A
- **2023** — FAA grants nationwide authorization for Pelican Spray autonomous commercial crop-dusting; Pyka secures 110,000 sq ft historic aviation hangar at Alameda Naval Air Station
- **2024-01** — Landmark commercial agreement signed with SLC Agrícola in Brazil
- **2024-09** — Pyka raises $40M Series B led by Obvious Ventures; delivers three aircraft to US Air Force Agility Prime program
- **2025-02** — Pyka unveils Pelican 2, world's largest autonomous electric agricultural aircraft, FAA-authorized for commercial operation
- **2025-10** — Pyka unveils DropShip, hybrid-electric defense UAV platform built with Sierra Nevada Corporation
- **2025** — Pyka secures firm order for 60 Pelican aircraft from Synerjet

## Achievements

- Co-founded Pyka in 2017, building it into the world's first FAA-certified autonomous electric aviation company
- Raised $95.43M total funding including $40M Series B in September 2024
- Received FAA nationwide authorization for autonomous electric commercial crop-dusting (2023) — a first in US aviation
- Secured 110,000 sq ft historic aviation hangar at Alameda Naval Air Station for scaled manufacturing
- Delivered autonomous electric aircraft to the US Air Force under the Agility Prime program
- Achieved commercial operations in four countries: United States, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Brazil
- Won 2025 Top-10 New Products Award from International Agri-Center for Pelican 2
- Secured firm order for 60 Pelican aircraft from Synerjet — largest-known autonomous electric aircraft order to date
- Partnered with Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corporation for expanded aviation and defense applications
- Built Pelican Spray to be the largest commercially-approved UAS in the United States at 1,125 pounds gross weight

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Pyka unveils DropShip, a hybrid-electric defense UAV platform with Sierra Nevada Corporation; inaugural flight scheduled for early 2026
- **2025-07** — Pyka secures firm order for 60 Pelican autonomous crop-protection aircraft from Synerjet
- **2025-02** — Pyka unveils Pelican 2, the world's largest autonomous electric agricultural aircraft — FAA-authorized, priced from $550,000
- **2024-09** — Pyka closes $40M Series B led by Obvious Ventures; delivers aircraft to US Air Force Agility Prime program
- **2024-01** — Pyka signs landmark commercial agreement with SLC Agrícola for operations in Brazil

## Links

- Website: https://www.flypyka.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-norcia-13a79124
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/flypyka

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-norcia
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25