Next-gen aviation startup MightyFly says it’s the first company developing a large, autonomous electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) cargo drone that’s been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for a flight corridor, Axios is first to report.

On June 27, 2025, the Californian company MightyFly announced that they had performed a live autonomous cargo flight demonstration for the US Air Force at New Jerusalem Airport in California. This demonstration, held on May 8, 2025, was part of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract under the Department of the Air Force’s AFWERX program.

MightyFLy is developing the MF100 hybrid electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Draper Associates is an early-stage venture capital company led by investor Tim Draper that has funded companies including SpaceX and Tesla. 

The Michigan Mobility Funding Platform (MMFP) has awarded MightyFly in San Francisco a $150,000 grant to demonstrate autonomous, fixed-wing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft cargo deliveries of 100 pounds of cargo in the state of Michigan. This is expected to be the first public demonstration of its kind.

San Francisco Bay Area startup MightyFly said it has completed its first series of flight tests with its MF-100 autonomous hybrid eVTOL aircraft for cargo delivery. The company said the tests successfully demonstrate its aircraft’s vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

Autonomous air cargo startup MightyFly has closed $5.1 million in seed funding, which will be used to scale up the company’s MF-100 eVTOL aircraft and build the infrastructure needed …