Writer

Charlotte Bailey

French aircraft developer Aura Aero has completed its latest funding round, with an additional €50 million ($59 million) taking its total money raised to €340 million ($398 million). The Toulouse-based start-up said the Series B capital injection will support progress with three separate objectives:&nbsp;the first flight of its hybrid-electric regional ERA aircraft in late 2027, ramping up production of its already-certified <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-04-08/aerobatics-club-receives-first-aura-aero-integral-r">Integral</a> two-seat trainer, and the development of its Enbata drone. 
The recently closed funding round—led by Safran Corporate Ventures—includes support from the French Tech Souveraineté fund (managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance), the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund), Safran Corporate Ventures, Blast, Innovacom, and the EDF Group. Further national funding is coming from the France 2050 program and the company has also landed a €170 million ($199 million) grant from the U.S. state of Florida to support the development of a factory at Daytona Beach. 
According to Aura Aero, these financial commitments also represent “the stability and credibility [the company requires] to establish itself as a long-term industrial player.” During a media briefing on April 8, co-founder and chief operating officer Fabien Raison reiterated that since its inception in 2018, Aura Aero has since “developed all the manufacturer’s fundamental pillars of a production organization,” balancing the need to finance its activities “hand in hand with the resources to produce [its aircraft].”
Last year, Aura Aero delivered three units of the Integral R tailwheel-configured trainer, with production expected to stabilize at one unit a month by July. The company is expecting EASA certification of its nosewheel Integral S model this by the end of September. However, projected certification of the all-electric Integral E light aircraft have now been pushed from 2026 to the end of 2027. 
Aura Aero CEO and co-founder Jérémy Caussade told AIN explained that this would allow the latest battery cells to be integrated into the certification variant, allowing the company to “secure the exact product [it wants].” He maintained that a targeted flight time of around one hour and fifteen minutes “is not black magic and can be supported by batteries available today.
Meanwhile, the prototype for its 19-passsenger hybrid-electric <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2026-03-02/new-era-aura-aero-signs-first-regional-aircraft-customer">ERA regional airliner</a> concept is set to <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2026-03-25/aura-aero-targeting-defense-sector-civilian-platforms-progress">make its first flight</a> late next year, with Aura Aero launching production of long-cycle components. Of the some 700 purchase intentions logged to date, Caussade says over 20 firm orders have so far <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2026-03-02/new-era-aura-aero-signs-first-regional-aircraft-customer">been received</a>, with the company looking to confirm its first 50 by the end of this year. “Sticking to the plan – that is our strongest asset,” he suggested, noting a strong market shift away from all-electric ambitions for aircraft of this size in recent years. 
<h2>Industrial Expansion</h2>
Aura Aero is developing manufacturing capacity on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.&nbsp;In March 2026, Aura Aero secured a building permit for a new factory at its home base of Toulouse-Francazal airport. Groundbreaking at the former military site is planned for the second half of the year, with the site to be operational by 2028: targeting the annual build of 100 ERA and 50 Integral aircraft when at full capacity in 2035. Aura Aero expects to employ between 1,500 and 1,600 people at the site, a sharp rise from today’s employee count of around 200. 
In particular, Caussade highlighted that a planning consultation for the 50,000 square meter facility (5.4 million square feet) received a 91% satisfaction score from respondents, with “zero observations and zero comments” reflecting a report “as positive as it can be.” The 11,000 square meter Daytona Beach site at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will initially focus on Integral construction as well as supporting the ERA program from 2028. However, Caussade described the U.S. approach to planning as “much more pragmatic” and “straightforward” than its French counterpart.

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