VIRES Aeronautics: Big Plans to Disrupt Aviation

Press

Jordan Greene received a phone call during the summer of 2012. His friend Harshil Goel – and now the CEO of VIRES Aeronautics – had called to discuss a discovery he had made while working in India.

“He said ‘I may have found a solution that will revolutionize aerodynamics and the aerospace industry’,” says Jordan Greene, the President of VIRES Aeronautics. “We started conducting tests on unmanned aerial vehicles and the results we were receiving were off the scale. We could allow planes to fly longer, carry more, takeoff and land easier and add performance benefits that were unheard of in the airplane industry.”

The call, and essentially the tests, would be the driving force behind their business venture, which has enormous potential to disrupt the aviation industry. VIRES received initial funding from Lemnos Labs, Draper Associates, Promus Ventures, VegasTechFund, Toivo Annus and other angels. Greene says he anticipates raising another round in the coming months.

Their company, VIRES Aeronautics, is transforming the industry with their active circulation control technology.

“VIRES Aeronautics develops high performance unmanned aerial vehicles that utilize Active Circulation Control technology. Our patented design increases the lift capability of fixed wings, enabling faster takeoff and landing, increased payload capacity, improved maneuverability, extended range, and reduced fuel consumption.”

VIRES has a unique competitive advantage because they can provide companies such as Amazon, Google, or even Monsanto with a system that will allow them to achieve their delivery or agriculture objectives.

“Companies are looking to house a payload with a camera that is not feasible with the current systems or the current infrastructure,” says Greene who studied at the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley and was a fellow in the Kairos Society.“ But our system actually allows enterprise customers to really utilize the full potential of unmanned aerial vehicles.”

While the team’s current focus is on high performance aircraft, their vision is to enhance the performance of all moving vehicles including automobiles, trucks, and more. Here’s what you should know about their current product:

VIRES Aeronautics Ora: Ora is a high-performance, small, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) designed for land operations. Capable of unparalleled endurance and payload capacity, the Ora uses sophisticated aerodynamics to achieve previously unfeasible mission profiles.

More About Greene and the VIRES Team

Greene is joined by two other founders Harshil Goel, the CEO, and Zachary Hargreaves, the CTO. Goel has worked at NWTF and studied mathematics and mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley. Hargreaves studied computer science and electrical engineering at UC Berkeley and has work experience from Harvard and NASA.

Other team members include Robert Vets, the COO and Director of Engineering, Mike Madden, the VP of Business Development, Mark Wise, the VP of Sales, along with an extensive board of advisors.

Throughout his entrepreneurial experience Greene says he has learned how to disrupt an established industry, which is questioning the status quo.

“You just have to keep pushing forward through any obstacle and make sure you are trusting your intuition because realistically you will always make mistakes,” says Greene. “Aspiring entrepreneurs need to just trust their gut. Perseverance and tenacity are the driving factors behind any successful startup.”

http://tech.co/vires-aeronautics-big-plans-disrupt-aviation-2014-09