# Natilus

> Natilus is a San Diego aircraft manufacturer building blended-wing-body planes - fuselage and wing fused into one lifting body instead of the century-old tube-and-wing. It starts with KONA, a 3.8-ton regional cargo freighter, then scales to Horizon, a 200-plus-seat airliner aimed squarely at the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A321neo. The pitch: roughly 30% less fuel, 40% more room, and 50% lower emissions, using existing airports, engines and pilots. The company has 570-plus reservations worth about $24 billion and raised a $28 million Series A in February 2026.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** San Diego, California, United States
- **Founders:** Aleksey Matyushev (CEO & Co-Founder), Anatoly Starikov (Co-Founder & Head of Operations / Prototyping)
- **Team size:** ~47 employees
- **Products:** KONA, Horizon (Horizon Evo), Natilus India
- **Notable:** Flew subscale prototypes of the KONA blended-wing-body freighter (April 2023)., Built an order book of 570-plus aircraft reservations valued at roughly $24 billion., Signed SpiceJet to a conditional order of up to 100 Horizon aircraft and an India certification partnership (December 2025).

## Products & services

- **KONA** — A regional blended-wing-body cargo freighter with a 3.8-ton payload and roughly 900 nautical mile range, built from carbon fiber and fiberglass composites, powered by Pratt & Whitney turboprops. Optionally piloted and able to operate from short or gravel runways. Full-scale prototype targeted to fly within about 24 months of the 2026 raise.
- **Horizon (Horizon Evo)** — A 200-plus-seat (up to ~240 high-density) blended-wing-body passenger airliner in carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, aimed at the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A321neo market. Evolved to a dual-deck design carrying passengers up top and standard air-freight containers below, with commercial service targeted for the early 2030s.
- **Natilus India** — A Mumbai-based subsidiary established to support in-country operations, certification and manufacturing in partnership with launch customer SpiceJet.

## Achievements

- Flew subscale prototypes of the KONA blended-wing-body freighter (April 2023).
- Built an order book of 570-plus aircraft reservations valued at roughly $24 billion.
- Signed SpiceJet to a conditional order of up to 100 Horizon aircraft and an India certification partnership (December 2025).
- Closed a $28 million Series A led by Draper Associates (February 2026).
- Added former Boeing Phantom Works and Military Aircraft VP Kory Mathews to its board.
- Launched a US-based domestic manufacturing effort and began site selection for Phase I and II production facilities.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Closed a $28 million Series A led by Draper Associates to fund KONA's full-scale prototype and Horizon Evo development; Wave Function announced a strategic investment the same month.
- **2025-12** — Signed SpiceJet to a conditional agreement for up to 100 Horizon aircraft and established Natilus India in Mumbai to support certification and operations.
- **2025-03** — Launched domestic US manufacturing effort and began searching for Phase I (250,000 sq ft, ~60 KONA/year) and Phase II (2.5M sq ft) production sites.

## Links

- Website: https://natilus.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/natilus
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/natilusaero
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NatilusAero

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/natilus
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-20