09 / 2017

FIRST SKETCH

Zuri started as a visual sketch. First drawn by the company founder, Michal Illich, with some crayons borrowed from his kids. Later redrawn by a professional aerospace designer to the form you see here.

05 / 2018

FIRST MODEL

To prove the basic idea, we built a small model with a two-meter wingspan. This was used to test the flight characteristics. Building a model using common hobby components allowed for cheap experimenting and rapid progress.

08 / 2018

PROOF OF CONCEPT

Next, we wanted to test the scalability of our concept. We hired an airplane designer to create a five-meter prototype. We tested it first in horizontal mode, as an airplane. Then we added the vertical takeoff and landing system and tested the aircraft in hover mode. This model is our first unmanned aircraft registered with the local CAA authorities.

10 / 2018

PALE FIRE CAPITAL FUNDING

After proving that the idea has wings, we approached Jan Barta of the PFC investment fund to consult about a fundraising strategy. He liked Zuri so much that he decided to invest €600k of the Pale Fire Capital money in the company as a convertible note.

01 / 2019

GROWING OUR TEAM

With the basic funding secured, we started to grow our team. From 6 in the autumn of 2018 we grew to 15 by the summer of 2019. Professional aerospace engineers, aerodynamics experts, software developers and other specialists joined Zuri on its mission.

03 / 2019

KIWI AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER

We joined forces with Kiwi.com, a very successful Czech startup, which sells airline tickets. Kiwi.com invested €200k and is helping us with their thorough knowledge of the air travel industry.

05 / 2019

TESTING

Things are getting serious. We are already testing components to be used in our one-seater prototype. Choosing the right electromotors, controllers and batteries is crucial for the success of our demonstrator.

09 / 2019

AERODYNAMIC TESTING

The first year we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a computer simulation of aerodynamics. Then, in the summer of 2019, we 3D-printed a model and verified the aerodynamics in a wind tunnel at the Czech Aerospace Research Centre.

2020

BUILDING DEMONSTRATOR

Currently, we are building our first experimental aircraft. It will be the first to be used as a “flying wing,” an unmanned aerial vehicle for testing all the components in hover mode. In the second phase, it will be upgraded to a full single-seater airplane.

12 / 2020 +

Demonstrator ground testing

Following subscale test models, ZURI had built a large-scale technology demonstrator with an 11m wingspan. Even in the age of high-end CAD software, the team at ZURI has to verify each detail in reality. Ground tests of the technology will be finalized in June 2021, followed by hover tests in July 2021.

05 / 2021

New angel investors onboard

Finding new partners and investors is a crucial task. So with pleasure, we welcomed on board Marek Rosa from GoodAI and Zdeněk Polách from Kaora, who recently invested a total of € 300,000 in the ZURI project and thus joined our previous investors Pale Fire Capital and Kiwi.com.

09 / 2021

The first hover test

We have achieved a true milestone in developing our hybrid VTOL aircraft. On 15th September 2021, ZURI team carried out the very first hover test. Our large-scale technological demonstrator with an 11m wingspan took off the ground and performed its first hover flight.

10 / 2021

€1.3M angel investment

ZURI welcomes a round of angel investors on board! With a lead investment of €750k, Mr. Jaroslav Beck becomes the largest single investor in ZURI’s history. Five other angels contributed additional €550k in this round, so ZURI had raised over €2.4 million in total (including conversion of previous notes) and secured necessary financing for the current development phase.

01 / 2022

Zuri 2.0

ZURI officially introduces the next generation of its hybrid VTOL aircraft, designated ZURI 2.0. After hundreds of hours of development and testing of large-scale flight demonstrator and sub-scale models, the ZURI team prepared the current version of the aircraft. This version builds on the knowledge the team has gained during the previous period and takes the ZURI project to the next stage of development.

10 / 2022

Updated design

We unveiled updates of the Zuri 2.0 concept. The seating configuration changed to 1+2+2 - one pilot and two rows of two passengers each. The aircraft now also has a V-tail instead of the traditional tail.