Radical
Radical builds StratoSats — autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that operate continuously in the stratosphere for months. Its flagship Evenstar platform serves defense agencies, telecom operators, and environmental monitoring organizations with sub-10 cm imagery and direct-to-device 5G connectivity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Radical does
Radical (Radical Inc., Delaware corporation) is an early-stage aerospace company founded in 2022–2023 by former Amazon Prime Air engineers James Thomas (CEO) and Cyriel Notteboom (CTO), headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company designs and manufactures StratoSats — autonomous, solar-powered aircraft engineered to operate continuously in the stratosphere at approximately 65,000 feet (20 km) altitude for months without landing. Its flagship platform, Evenstar, has a 120-foot wingspan, a 110 kg total mass, and a 15 kg payload capacity, and is intended to deliver sub-10 cm resolution video, 5G direct-to-device connectivity, and precision weather forecasting. The company targets three primary verticals: defense and government agencies requiring persistent surveillance and resilient communications, telecommunications operators seeking cost-effective rural, maritime, and growth-market coverage, and environmental monitoring organizations needing wildfire, flood, and emissions detection.
The underlying technology combines first-principles aerospace engineering with onboard AI and edge computing for real-time autonomous decision-making, computer vision–based observation, and predictive analytics for weather and climate sensing. Radical claims StratoSats can be built and operated for less than 1% of the lifetime cost of comparable satellite constellations or legacy high-altitude aircraft, with order-of-magnitude improvements in image resolution, communications bandwidth, and latency relative to satellites operating at 500 km altitude. Unlike satellites, the aircraft are designed to loiter, navigate freely, and reposition in real time, and the company describes the ability to deploy hundreds of units as rapidly adapting, resilient mesh networks. To date, Radical has completed a 24+ hour autonomous low-altitude flight with a sub-scale prototype and, in September 2025, completed the maiden flight of the full-scale Evenstar prototype, with high-altitude testing planned for 2026.
Radical operates a managed-services revenue model, providing persistent aerial infrastructure under contracts negotiated individually with enterprise and government customers; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company has raised approximately $5 million across an early Y Combinator–led round (April 2023, $500,000) and a $4.5 million Series Seed (April 2024) led by Scout Ventures with participation from Inflection and Y Combinator; an SEC Form D filing indicates an offering of up to approximately $6.7 million. Go-to-market is direct enterprise and field sales into defense agencies, telecom operators, and environmental monitoring organizations, supported by thought-leadership content and earned media coverage in TechCrunch, GeekWire, Popular Science, and Defense Daily. The team remains lean (1–10 employees), with active hiring across flight test, embedded software, and meteorology roles as of late 2025.
Radical firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Radical
- Legal name
- Radical Inc.
- Website
- https://radicalaero.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Radical builds StratoSats — autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that operate continuously in the stratosphere for months. Its flagship Evenstar platform serves defense agencies, telecom operators, and environmental monitoring organizations with sub-10 cm imagery and direct-to-device 5G connectivity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Radical industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Stratospheric Aerospace Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Aircraft Manufacturing (336411), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Aircraft & Parts (3720)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Special-Mission Fixed-Wing Aircraft Manufacturing (ISR, AEW&C, Patrol) (IMABAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval) (IMABAGAA)
Keywords
Where Radical is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Radical business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- StratoSat Infrastructure Services: Providing persistent, high-performance infrastructure services from the stratosphere for telecommunications, environmental monitoring, and defense applications. Operates as managed services with continuous aerial platform deployment.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Radical product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Radical designs, builds, and operates StratoSats — autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that fly continuously in the stratosphere at 65,000 ft for months without landing. The flagship product, Evenstar, is a full-scale prototype with a 120-ft wingspan that delivers sub-10 cm resolution imagery, 5G direct-to-device connectivity, and precision weather forecasting as managed infrastructure services for defense, telecommunications, and environmental monitoring customers.
Product overview
Radical offers StratoSats, a platform of autonomous solar-powered aircraft that deliver persistent, high-performance infrastructure from the stratosphere. The flagship product is Evenstar, which provides ultra-high resolution imagery (sub-10 cm), 5G direct-to-device connectivity, and precision weather forecasting capabilities. StratoSats fly continuously at 65,000 ft for months without landing, operating as a resilient alternative to satellites and ground infrastructure.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- StratoSats
Quantifiable outcome
- Built and operated for less than 1% of the lifetime cost of comparable satellite constellation or legacy high-altitude aircraft system
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Radical
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Radical technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature3 records
Radical partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Radical competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AALTO Airbus (Zephyr): Airbus subsidiary operating the Zephyr, the world's leading stratospheric HAPS platform, in active service with armed forces and commercial customers. Most direct technical and commercial competitor to Radical's StratoSat architecture.
- Sceye: US-based HAPS company developing a solar-powered high-altitude platform for broadband connectivity and Earth observation. Closest US analogue in mission, altitude regime, and target customers.
- Skydweller Aero: Solar-powered HAPS for persistent ISR and communications, originally based on a solar-powered改装 aircraft. Targets defense and commercial telecom use cases overlapping directly with Radical.
- Stratospheric Platforms Ltd: UK-based HAPS developer using a high-altitude aircraft to deliver 5G coverage and surveillance. Directly comparable mission profile and customer set in telecom and defense.
Broad incumbents
- BAE Systems (PHASA-35): Defense prime developing the PHASA-35 stratospheric UAV for persistent ISR. Comparable mission and altitude regime; deeper pockets, established defense procurement relationships, and a broader portfolio.
Emerging players
- World View: Stratospheric balloon-based remote sensing and communications platform. Different lift mechanism, but overlaps with Radical on high-altitude persistent observation for environmental and defense customers.
- Near Space Labs: High-altitude balloon operator delivering high-resolution aerial imagery as a service. Competes with Radical's observation use case at lower altitude and lower cost, but with shorter persistence.
Others
- Capella Space: SAR satellite operator delivering high-resolution imagery for defense and commercial customers. Represents the satellite-based alternative whose performance/cost gap Radical's StratoSats are designed to disrupt.
- Planet Labs: Operator of the world's largest commercial Earth observation satellite constellation. The incumbent against which Radical's claim of order-of-magnitude resolution and latency improvements must be validated.
- Aerostar (Thales): Thales subsidiary developing stratospheric balloon systems for defense, observation, and communications. Adjacent technology category with overlapping customer use cases for persistent high-altitude ISR.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Radical social profiles
Digital presenceRadical financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Radical leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Radical funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Radical M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Radical
What does Radical do?
Radical designs, builds, and operates StratoSats — autonomous, solar-powered aircraft that fly continuously in the stratosphere at 65,000 ft for months without landing. The flagship product, Evenstar, is a full-scale prototype with a 120-ft wingspan that delivers sub-10 cm resolution imagery, 5G direct-to-device connectivity, and precision weather forecasting as managed infrastructure services for defense, telecommunications, and environmental monitoring customers.
Is Radical a public or private company?
Radical is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Radical founded?
Radical was founded in 2023. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Radical based?
Radical is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Radical make money?
One revenue line is on record: stratoSat Infrastructure Services.
Who are Radical's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AALTO Airbus (Zephyr), Sceye, Skydweller Aero and Stratospheric Platforms Ltd. BAE Systems (PHASA-35) is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are World View and Near Space Labs. Others are Capella Space, Planet Labs and Aerostar (Thales).
Does Radical have an API?
No public API is recorded for Radical.
What industry is Radical in?
Radical's product category is Stratospheric Aerospace Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAAAH, Special-Mission Fixed-Wing Aircraft Manufacturing (ISR, AEW&C, Patrol), with a secondary code of IMABAGAA, Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval). Its NAICS code is 336411 and its SIC code is 3812.