Masterclass: The professor behind the engines of India's flying future
Chennai: On an October evening in 2016, a professor from IIT Madras came across a talk by Tony Seba, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
In the video, Seba showed two remarkable pictures. The first one was from 1900—an Easter Parade in New York City's Fifth Avenue. In the middle of the street, crowded with horse-drawn carriages, was a car. One could barely see it. He next showed a picture from the same parade 13 years later. 'Where is the horse?" Seba asked. Fifth Avenue, now crowded with cars, just had one horse carriage.
Seba went on to make a few predictions. All cars will become electrified; by 2020, the cost of an electric car will be about the same as that of an internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered car; by 2030, everybody will start using electric cars and we will enter the era of driverless vehicles.
'I finished watching the video and wondered what am I doing here building the world's largest combustion centre," Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, the professor, says.
Back then, Chakravarthy was working on establishing the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development at IIT Madras.
That video encounter would eventually spark an incredible journey for the professor, from academia to entrepreneurship. It planted the first seed of what seemed an almost improbable idea nine years ago—building air taxis in India.
Rockets and satellites
This writer took a 36 km journey with Chakravarthy, from the IIT Madras campus in Chennai, where he resides, to the institute's satellite campus, in Thaiyur.
It is 8:15 am on a hot Monday morning. Dressed in a white shirt with red checkered lines, the professor pops open his steel tiffin box for breakfast in the car, an everyday ritual. He scoops a spoonful of boiled chickpeas, and then pauses mid-bite, to recollect what happened after he heard Seba's talk.
That night, he spent time with a colleague, walking the lush green campus of IIT Madras, telling him that they had to build electric planes. If cars can become electric, it's only a matter of time before planes do, he reasoned. The question in his mind was time. Could electric planes become a reality before he retires in 2034?
'I had a good 18 years ahead. I could pretend that it's not going to happen and continue to work in combustion. But I decided I can't be living in denial for about 18 years. Instead, I should actually jump on the bandwagon and be the driver of change," Chakravarthy says.
The ePlane Co. was incorporated two years later, with a grand vision—to alleviate global traffic congestion.
Founded by the professor and incubated in IIT Madras, the company is now testing a cargo plane for metro cities. The air taxi is in the engineering phase with regulatory audits expected to begin this fiscal year.
That's not the only company Chakravarthy started. He collaborated, advised or co-founded a handful of other deep-tech businesses—AgniKul Cosmos, Aerostrovilos Energy, GalaxEye, TuTr Hyperloop, and X2Fuels.
Agnikul Cosmos is building small rockets that can launch satellites into space quickly and at a low cost; Aerostrovilos is developing compact micro gas turbines, which are small, jet engine-like machines that generate electricity; GalaxEye is building satellites for earth observation; TuTr Hyperloop is aiming to develop an ultra high-speed ground transportation system while X2Fuels is working on turning waste into clean fuel and chemicals, helping reduce pollution.
If these companies become successful businesses, going ahead, they could shape the future of space, transport, farming, and energy.
Social guy
Growing up in Chennai, professor Chakravarthy taught himself to play the violin. He also loved to sketch in his spare time.
After school, Chakravarthy did not get admission into an IIT right away; he enrolled himself in a private engineering college in Chennai.
His extroverted nature pulled him into college life—taking on internships, leading initiatives, and even running the hostel magazine during elections. Wherever he got involved, his energy and leadership stood out.
'I am a very social guy. My room was the place where all the guys who did not pay attention in class congregated," he remembers.
He then prepared for the joint entrance examination, one of India's most competitive tests for admission to top engineering institutions, with more seriousness. In 1987, he managed to secure the 835th rank.
Aerospace studies, at IIT Madras, was on the menu.
'I was not interested in coding and computers. I wanted to do stuff with my hands and build things. That is the reason why I picked aerospace over chemical, metallurgy or other options," Chakravarthy says.
After his bachelors in aerospace engineering, he went on to pursue higher studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. Following a postdoctoral stint, he returned to join IIT Madras as a professor in 1997.
Mr Cool
With half a dozen companies to advise now, the professor is a busy man.
He spends two hours advising startups he's involved with; three hours teaching at IIT Madras, and the rest of his time leading The ePlane Co. as both its chief executive officer and the chief technology officer. But that's not all—Chakravarthy is a much sought after speaker and does the rounds of tech conferences.
He never loses his cool, despite wearing many hats, his colleagues vouch.
'We have around 20 teams, from preliminary design to detailed design, and he (Chakravarthy) has to check and advise each one of them," Rajasekar Vijayakumar, head of manufacturing at The ePlane Co., says. 'But, he maintains his cool throughout the day."
The professor mostly joins deeptech startups at their formative stage, helping shape their technical designs, making the necessary connections, and at times, even funding them. Nonetheless, he is not involved in the daily operations of most of these companies.
For instance, Chakravarthy played a crucial role in mentoring Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM, co-founders of Agnikul. The duo approached him through multiple contacts in the summer of 2017 and sought guidance on building rockets.
'His extensive network within the Isro community helped us connect with some of our very important advisors. Another thing is that when you are a young company, you need validation about what you are building and the professor's help in the initial months was critical," Ravichandran tells this writer. 'He is the person who suggested that we should make single piece rocket engines. He is also the person who pushed us to reach a point where the entire rocket engine is 3D printed," he adds.
In May last year, Agnikul test-launched its 3D printed semi-cryogenic rocket, a feat that received a congratulatory message from the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
'All startups have their own founders and I do not step on their toes. They expect me to only be an advisor," Chakravarthy says.
Uber in the sky
The realization of what it can become was a magical moment for Vinod Shankar, founder at venture capital firm Java Capital and an early investor in The ePlane Co.
Shankar, who has a farmhouse near Mysuru, noted with excitement that when the ePlane taxis happen, the hope in the family is that they can go from Bengaluru to the farm in 15-20 minutes. 'Why do you need to live in Bengaluru then? It's an urban revolution as you don't need to live in dense cities," he says.
Before that magical moment can happen, the company has to solve hard engineering problems.
Technically, it is building what is known as an electric-powered compact aircraft or eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing). These planes can take off and land vertically, like a helicopter and don't need a long runway.
Unlike helicopters, the three-seater aircraft (which would include the pilot's) has wings that give a lift when it moves forward and reduces the energy needed to stay in the air. Drones or helicopters, in comparison, rely only on rotors. The aircraft would look like a cross between a drone and a small plane.
The company is currently building its first prototype, with test flights scheduled for August. This will be followed by additional prototypes, each refined and flight-tested as part of the certification process. It aims to commercialize the air taxis by 2027.
While the commute via air taxis would cut short time, they might, in fact, become cheaper than Uber one day, claims the professor. The company has been mapping distance and costs comparing it with the cab aggregator.
'Uber had a model by which they used existing cars. But we don't have existing assets in our case. So, it will take a couple of years for me to ramp up to the level, but the point is, it's doable," Chakravarthy says.
Initially, commercialization could begin with the aircraft operating as air ambulance.
The ePlane Co. has raised about $21.5 million so far. Apart from Java Capital, investors include Speciale Invest and 3one4 Capital.
The fascinating thing is that Chakravarthy is an aerospace guy—propulsion and combustion were his specialties, says Sonal Saldanha, vice president at 3one4 Capital. 'He was at the centre for combustion research. Electric vehicles need to be anything but combustible. I say this as a joke, but the point is that he was willing to take major calls on his career trajectory based on where he saw an opportunity, regardless of where he's spent time building an identity," Saldanha adds.
Investors say the professor is savvy when it comes to raising money—an essential skill when it comes to building deep tech companies that can mop up huge capital.
'Fundraising is one of the toughest things that founders have to face, but he's naturally equipped and has been doing a great job at this for a long time now," Saldanha says.
Further fund raise for the The ePlane Co. would test the professor—according to investors in the know, air taxis would require humongous capital for it to become a reality.
Of the six companies he is part of, AgniKul Cosmos has raised the most thus far, going by data from Tracxn—$42 million.
Jargons for outsiders
None of the startups the professor advises, or is a co-founder at, have generated revenue at this point.
GalaxEye could start generating revenue from next year, he says, while The ePlane Co. and AgniKul Cosmos could start making money towards the end of next year. The ePlane Co., meanwhile, is beginning to clock some 'very small revenue" with the drones a subsidiary of the company builds.
Chakravarthy, meanwhile, remains an academic at heart even when he steps outside the classroom and into the fast-paced world of startups. He says he doesn't get enamoured by equity, valuation and exits. They are just jargons to be used for the outside world.
What drives him, personally, is the daily grind—16-hour days but one step at a time. His only pause is a couple of quiet hours on Sunday, when he unwinds.
Shankar of Java Capital points out that he has not come across anyone from academics who is as energetic as Chakravarthy. 'If anybody can do this in India, it's only Satya. Nobody is going to take that level of risk," he says.
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