What began as a university classroom project for a group of Texas engineering students has evolved into a venture aiming to transform logistics between centralized medical facilities.
Haast Autonomous, a startup founded by seven graduating seniors from Rice University, recently secured $1.85 million in pre-seed funding. The capital allows the team to transition from campus workshops to the development of a commercial drone-based transport system, with pilot trials expected to begin in early 2027.
The young company is focusing its technology on a distinct challenge in modern healthcare. As medical networks centralize, specialized laboratories, blood banks, and diagnostic services are increasingly concentrated in fewer, primary hubs. However, transporting sensitive biological samples and emergency treatments between these distributed facilities still depends largely on road couriers or costly traditional aircraft.
Read: Who is Aman Sanger? Indian American MIT graduate behind AI startup Cursor’s $60 billion SpaceX deal (June 17, 2026)
“Hospitals rely heavily on ground couriers,” said the co-founder Jason Chen, noting that this reliance can introduce delays when time is a critical factor for patient care.
To address this, the team designed an aircraft that can take off and land vertically, allowing it to operate directly from existing hospital facilities. Once airborne, the drone transitions into horizontal flight to cover longer distances efficiently. The current prototype has a range of 50 to 62 miles and can carry a payload of at least five pounds.
The vehicle features a specialized payload compartment designed to regulate temperature, pressure, vibration, and tilt. This environment makes the fleet suitable for fragile cargo, including patient samples, antivenom, poisoning kits, and targeted therapies.
The venture grew out of Rice University’s Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summer Venture Studio, where founding seniors Ege Halac, Jason Chen, and Santiago Brent initially developed the concept. They later built prototypes at the university’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, teaming up with fellow engineering students Felix Hasson, Ethan Javedan, Kenna Sanders, and Caden Schmidt to turn a capstone design project into a logistics startup.
Read: Altman’s $2 million OpenAI ‘tokenmaxxing’ offer to startups raises founder control concerns (May 21, 2026)
The team adopted an agile engineering approach, producing 13 aircraft iterations in 16 weeks. By utilizing 3D printing technology, they kept individual prototype production costs below $1,000.
The design has already earned multiple accolades, including the award for Best Aerospace or Transportation Technology at the 2026 Oshman Engineering Design Showcase and Competition, and top prizes at the H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge.
With $1.85 million in fresh funding secured, the seven founders plan to spend their first year after graduation working full-time on the venture. Beyond the aircraft itself, the team is building real-time logistics software to manage flight telemetry, aircraft availability, and airspace restrictions, allowing hospitals to request flights and maintain detailed chain-of-custody records. Commercial deployment is targeted for later in 2027.
