Icarus
Icarus is a YC Fall 2025 (F25) company. Based in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Team of 8.
About Icarus
Summary
Icarus builds autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that operate at 60,000 feet for weeks at a time, delivering persistent surveillance and communications coverage to defense customers. Flying above weather in the stratosphere, each platform is priced at roughly $100K and produced at scale in the thousands. The aircraft replace the role traditionally filled by expensive crewed reconnaissance planes and satellite assets.
Business model
Per-unit sale of high-volume, low-cost stratospheric aircraft to defense customers.
Go-to-market
Defense agencies and military operators are the buyers, acquiring platforms in large quantities for always-on intelligence and connectivity missions.
From the Y Combinator listing
Stratospheric birds for defense
Always-on intelligence and connectivity for Defense. Icarus builds autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that fly at 60,000 feet for weeks at a time, above the clouds harnessing the power of the Sun, but never too close. It’s the modern-day U-2 spy plane, except each costs $100K and is built by the thousands. The future of warfare is in the Stratosphere.
Facts
- Industrials / Industrials -> Defense
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 8
- Active
- Early
Founders (1)
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