Flowcode · Jun 2026
Customer story about the Adni campaign at NTI 2025, including a Buoyant blimp with QR-based engagement, measurable conversions, and 45,000+ direct impressions.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Overview
Buoyant Aero is a San Francisco-based aerospace/tech startup that originally built small unmanned cargo airships and now markets zero-emissions automated blimps as a turnkey "Blimps-as-a-Service" aerial media platform for branding, messaging, and data collection.
Primary product
Blimps-as-a-Service aerial advertising platform
Founded
2020
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Team size
1-10 employees
Industry
Technology, Information and Internet
Sub-industry
aerial media / autonomous airships
Offices
816 Haight St, San Francisco, California 94117, United States
New York office (NewLab, Brooklyn Navy Yard), New York, NY
Business model
B2B brand activations
aerial advertising
experiential marketing
data collection services
Funding
Stage
seed
Total raised
$125K
Latest round
Seed Round · Aug 2021
Latest amount
$125K
People & investors
Founders
Founder and CTO (historical)
Work & culture
Small, technical, fast-moving team focused on real-world flight testing, rapid deployment, and build-in-public marketing. Public postings emphasize hands-on engineering, operations, and launching new blimp activations quickly.
Compensation
Public postings show a 2-4 week on-site avionics contract at $20-$50/hour, and full-time roles advertised with competitive salary plus equity. One role explicitly said Part 107 certification could be sponsored; another said US citizen/visa only.
Product & market
Pricing
Custom campaign pricing for turnkey aerial activations; public postings also show hourly contract hiring for some engineering roles.
Differentiators
- —Zero-emissions automated blimps
- —Turnkey Blimps-as-a-Service delivery from design through flight ops
- —Built-in WiFi and QR/data-capture capabilities
- —FAA-compliant, geofenced operations with manual override
- —Fast deployment timelines for branded activations
- —Strong visual reach and claimed high brand recall versus traditional billboards
Technology
Python
SolidWorks
MATLAB
Ansys
ArduPilot
Pixhawk Cube Orange
Mission Planner
GPS
Lua
Dropbox
YouTube
LinkedIn
electric propulsion
telemetry
ESCs
Customers
Amazon Prime Video
MGM Studios
Adni
Competitors
traditional billboards
towed banner aircraft
static event signage
small planes
helicopters
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
Less than $1 million
Estimated monthly visits
822
Traffic estimate as of Jun 2026
Latest news
LinkedIn · Oct 2025
Albie Brown described a rapid Amazon Prime Video / Heads of State blimp deployment, highlighting a sub-two-week timeline, FAA/Coast Guard coordination, and real-world brand activation execution.
Hackaday · Sep 2021
Technical coverage of Buoyant's hybrid airship approach, including its middle-mile cargo use case, lift mix, and autonomous-flight ambitions.
TechCrunch · Aug 2021
TechCrunch's YC Demo Day roundup highlighted Buoyant Aero as using electric blimps for medium-range air freight and cited its 650 lb cargo ambition and rural freight market focus.
TechCrunch · Aug 2021
Early profile of Buoyant's cargo-airship concept, founders Ben Claman and Joe Figura, and the company's plan to cut middle-mile delivery costs and pursue FAA certifications.
Jobs and careers at Buoyant Aero
0 jobs at Buoyant Aero
No open positions
Check back later for new openings