GrepBeat last wrote about Anumá Aerospace back in 2023. Anumá Aerospace is an RTP-based startup that has developed technology enabling long-distance electric flight and dynamic maneuvering capability for lighter-than-air aircraft.
For this piece, we caught up with the founding team of Jamie Little and Diana Little to learn more about them, their technology, and their progress as they move toward closing a $10M seed round and producing their first vacuum-lift aircraft.
GrepBeat: Before we get started, for readers who may not be familiar, what’s the elevator pitch for Anuma Aerospace?
Jamie Little and Diana Little: Anuma Aerospace has developed the world’s first vacuum lift cell, which allows their aircraft to takeoff and land vertically, change altitude at will, remain aloft for unprecedented periods of time, and enables long-distance electric flight. Anuma’s ground-breaking technology removes the barriers to the wider adoption of lighter-than-air aircraft that have existed since the 1930s.
GB: When we got in touch, we asked you to look back on the last time we checked in, back in 2023. When you look back at that article, what are some of the major changes that stand out?
Littles: When the first article came out, I think our first patent had just been issued and we’d just started on our Phase I SBIR grant. We’re now close to having our second patent issued and well into our Phase II SBIR grant developing our PEGASUS weather data acquisition aircraft, as well as developing relationships in the defense sector.
We were invited to the National Security Innovation Network’s Vector accelerator (where we earned second place), to the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s (OUSW(R&E)) Technology Innovation Discovery Event (TIDE), and to SigmaBlox. We’ve also completed running a finite element analysis of our full 18-meter-diameter sphere, which was incredibly tricky and time consuming, but our design performed beautifully. And, we have had full-scale components built and independently tested—also performing as designed.
Now, we’re working on closing a $10 million seed round, which will allow us to build the world’s first vacuum-lift aircraft!
GB: How has your team grown or evolved since we last spoke?
Littles: We haven’t actually grown our team much. We’ve had the talent we needed to progress to where we are today. We will be expanding our team, however, once we close our seed round.
GB: Have there been any recent milestones or accomplishments you’re particularly proud of?
Littles: We’re very proud to have de-risked the technology “on paper” to the point we’re ready to build our flight demonstration prototype.
GB: You’ve been on the scene for a little while now. People may know you as founders, but perhaps less so as human beings. Tell us something we don’t know about you that has nothing to do with your life as a founder.
Littles: Jamie is an out and proud transgender woman who started her transition journey about five years ago. Diana and Jamie were married at the time, have since separated, but remain close friends and business partners.
GB: What partners or organizations (service providers, advisors, investors, if any) have been most helpful to you?
Littles: We absolutely would not be where we are today without the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the SBIR program. Our Phase I and II SBIR grants have been the backbone of our funding so far. First Flight Venture Center has been central as well by providing space, support, and access to a local entrepreneurial community and the North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem.
GB: What is your next, biggest challenge?
Littles: Closing a $10 million seed round in the Southeastern U.S. entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’re not optimistic that that is possible, so we’ve extended our search nationally and internationally. Once we’ve secured that funding, we’ll immediately start building our prototype aircraft.
GB: If you could go back in time to speak to yourself on the day you founded your startup, what advice would you give your younger self?
Littles: Don’t do it! LOL. Seriously though, be prepared for a long haul, because this is all going to take a lot longer than even your most pessimistic prediction.
GB: Finally, you finish a long, grueling day of starting up. You’re hungry and/or thirsty. Where in the Triangle are you headed?
Littles: [We] have finished many long workdays by sitting down at Cristo’s Ristorante and Pizzeria on Millbrook Avenue in Raleigh for glasses of wine and a delicious Italian meal.
