What Horyzn does

Horyzn is a student-led aerospace prototyping project operating under NEXT Prototypes e.V., a registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) based in Garching bei München, Germany, and affiliated with the Technical University of Munich. Founded around 2019, the organization develops electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles focused on emergency response applications, particularly the rapid delivery of defibrillators to cardiac arrest patients in rural areas where ambulance response times exceed clinically viable thresholds (averaging 9 minutes in Germany against a 4-minute survival window). Its product portfolio comprises four sequential aircraft platforms: Silencio Gamma (2019-2020), an ultra-quiet 100% electric VTOL defibrillator transport with independent hover and cruise powertrains; Frankenstein (2021-2022), an earlier prototype; Kolibri (2023-2024), the first eVTOL defibrillator transport in Germany; and IsarFalke (2025), developed as part of the second stage of the GoAERO Prize global competition targeting autonomous passenger rescue aircraft. The aircraft are built primarily from carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites.

The technical architecture combines quadcopter simplicity with fixed-wing cruise efficiency, featuring two independent powertrains for hover and cruise, with stated payloads on the order of 2 kg and dimensions suited to medical supply transport. Autonomy is positioned as a core capability, with the team describing autonomous takeoff, cruise, and landing operations supported by a partnership with Auterion, an open-source drone software platform provider. Design tools are anchored by a Dassault Systèmes sponsorship, and the team draws on interdisciplinary expertise across aerostructures, flight control and flight testing, software and autonomy, powertrain, and EWIS.

Horyzn has no commercial revenue, no paying customers, and no publicly disclosed pricing. The business model is research-and-development funding through a tiered corporate sponsorship stack (main: Reiser-St; gold: Rohde & Schwarz, Toray, BayernLB; silver: Auterion, Liebherr, Schaeffler, Dassault Systèmes; bronze: Rolls-Royce) supplemented by institutional support from TUM and competition prizes, most notably $320,000 as one of eight prototype winners in the 2025 GoAERO Prize. The only documented end-user relationship is with the Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz (Bavarian Red Cross) as a supporter and potential operator for emergency medical drone deployment. Distribution occurs through competition-based technology demonstration and university channels rather than commercial sales.

Name

Horyzn

Legal name

NEXT Prototypes e.V.

Website

https://horyzn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Horyzn (NEXT Prototypes e.V.) is a student-led TUM project developing autonomous eVTOL drones for emergency medical response, including defibrillator delivery and passenger rescue, funded by corporate sponsorships and competition prizes with no commercial revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (eVTOL Aircraft)

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric & Hybrid-Electric Propulsion (eVTOL/Regional) (IMABADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Autonomous Flight Control & Guidance Systems (UAS/Urban Air Mobility) (IMABAFAO)

Keywords

• EVTOL aircraft development
• Emergency response drones
• Medical supply delivery
• Autonomous flight systems
• Aerospace prototyping

Headquarters

HQ city

Garching Bei München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research and Development Funding: Pre-revenue research project funded through competition prizes, sponsorships, and institutional support from Technical University of Munich. No commercial products currently being sold.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Horyzn is a student-led research project at the Technical University of Munich that conceptualizes, designs, and builds electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles for emergency response applications. The project develops prototype autonomous aircraft, primarily aimed at transporting defibrillators to cardiac arrest patients in rural areas and assisting in natural disaster response. All output is currently in prototype/competition stage with no commercial products being sold.

Product overview

Horyzn is a student project at the Technical University of Munich developing multiple eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircraft for emergency response applications. The product portfolio centers on autonomous drones designed to transport defibrillators and provide emergency rescue capabilities. Key products include: IsarFalke (latest GoAERO competition prototype), Kolibri (next-generation defibrillator transport), Silencio Gamma (ultra-quiet eVTOL and first defibrillator transport in Germany), and Frankenstein (earlier prototype). All products are developed by the student team and participate in the global GoAERO Prize competition for emergency response aircraft development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IsarFalke Latest Horyzn eVTOL prototype developed for the GoAERO Prize competition second stage, designed as a compact, rapidly deployable autonomous passenger rescue aircraft for emergency response scenarios.
• Kolibri Next-generation eVTOL defibrillator transport drone featuring advanced aerodynamics, durable structure, and resilient electronics, designed to shorten the time until a defibrillator can be applied in rural areas and potentially increase patient survival chance by up to three times.
• Silencio Gamma The first eVTOL defibrillator transport in Germany, a 100% electric ultra-quiet Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft combining quadcopter simplicity with fixed-wing cruise efficiency, featuring two independent powertrains for hover and cruise operations. Built from carbon fiber and glass fiber reinforced polymer composites.
• Frankenstein Earlier-generation eVTOL prototype developed by Horyzn, representing the team's first-stage aircraft in their drone development program.

Quantifiable outcome

• Survival rate for cardiac arrest patients can be tripled by shortening response time from 9 minutes to 4 minutes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bayerisches Rotes KreuzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBavarian Red Cross as a supporter - potential end-user of emergency response drone technology for medical supply delivery
• AuterioncoreTechnology or IntegrationSilver sponsor providing drone software platform expertise
• Technical University of MunichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional partner - parent university providing academic framework and resources for the student project
• Dassault SystèmescoreTechnology or IntegrationSilver sponsor providing simulation and design software
• MakerSpaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkshop and fabrication space supporter for prototype development

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Volocopter: Germany-headquartered eVTOL air taxi developer pursuing urban air mobility and emergency services with crewed aircraft. A larger incumbent in the same national ecosystem, addressing overlapping use cases (emergency response, urban mobility) but at crewed scale and with vastly more capital.
• Lilium: German eVTOL developer building a regional electric jet for passenger and emergency medevac use. Comparable German aerospace engineering talent base but operating at a completely different capitalization and certification scale.
• Joby Aviation: Joby is developing a certified eVTOL air taxi with announced emergency medical service partnerships. Comparable in propulsion architecture (electric VTOL) and target vertical (emergency response), though at multi-billion-dollar capitalization.
• Wing (Alphabet): Wing operates a global autonomous drone delivery network for small packages and medical goods, with active BVLOS permissions in multiple jurisdictions. Relevant as an established commercial benchmark for the autonomy and regulatory path Horyzn would need.
• EHang: EHang develops autonomous passenger eVTOL aircraft (EH216-S) with demonstrated type certification for autonomous flight in China — a credible benchmark for what autonomous emergency eVTOL could look like at scale.

Others

• Auterion: Auterion provides the open-source drone operating system and autonomy stack used across the commercial and government drone industry. Horyzn lists Auterion as a sponsor/integration partner, making it a key enabling technology peer rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Zipline: Zipline operates autonomous fixed-wing drones for medical supply delivery (blood, vaccines, defibrillators) in rural and hard-to-reach areas — the closest direct comparable in mission, autonomy, and end customer to Horyzn's Kolibri defibrillator concept.
• Matternet: Matternet builds autonomous quadcopter drones for hospital-to-hospital and emergency medical logistics, with active BVLOS operations in Switzerland and the US — a direct peer in medical autonomous drone delivery and regulatory path.

Emerging players

• Dronamics: Dronamics builds long-range autonomous cargo drones aimed at same-day logistics and emergency resupply — an emerging peer with overlapping autonomous cargo eVTOL technology and target markets (time-critical medical/logistics).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horyzn
• Xx.com/horyznaerospace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Horyzn