An interview with Urban Aeronautics’ CEO Nimrod Golan-Yanay by Seth Williams
How did you come up with the idea for this startup?
“Our Founder Dr. Yoeli decide to use a US Army Flying Jeep design from the 1950’s improve it and make it an Urban Flying Platform.”
“Very Exciting, we are in the aviation and aerospace business that combines great people, long term vision, advanced technology and new business areas that aim to impact our life.”
Is this your first experience with deep tech \ aerospace?
“It is not my first one, I have led many development and acquisition programs for the Israeli Air Force. Further my retirement from the Airforce I held a VP position with Amdocs for 4 years.”
Who are your team members, and how did you form the team?
“Over the years we gathered a core team from the Israeli industry. From Ofer our CTO (Former IAI) , to Tal our CFO (Former Gett), to Haran VP BD (former Elbit) to Inbar our COO (Former Comverse)”
How much money did you raise? +40M$
In the future, would you sell (Exit) or rather build a large company?
“Our goal is to build an OEM company in partnership with industrial partners.”
Did Covid have any effect on your decision to start the company or activity?
“Yes, we moved to a remote work, delayed some of the test flights, but kept the group and spirit.”
How do you feel about the responsibility of leading such a startup?
“Very Exciting, we are in the aviation and aerospace business that combines great people, long term vision, advanced technology and new business areas that aim to impact our life.”
Who are your ideal partners?
Strategic partners to develop and market our CityHawk aircraft.
Where do you see your company in 5 years from now?
First commercial flights and a large order pipeline.
What would you consider as success?
Making air travel in cities a “normal day” travel experience – safe, affordable, eco-friendly and quiet.
Learn more about Urban Aeronautics at www.urbanaero.com
