eVTOL buzz speaks with Zuri Founder and CEO Michal Illich about the company’s progress in Regional Air Mobility, its hybrid-electric aircraft architecture, and the challenges of developing a certifiable VTOL program in Europe.
- Founded in 2017 by CEO Michal Illich
- Headquartered in Prague, Czechia 🇨🇿
- Manufacturer of Zuri hybrid VTOL aircraft
- Hybrid-electric propulsion architecture
- Targeted range of 700 km, ~435 miles (subject to certification and final configuration)
- Projected speed of up to 350km/h, ~217 mph (design target)
- Tourism and regional point-to-point air travel
- Public safety, humanitarian and government-operated SAR & MEDEVAC missions
- Cargo/logistics applications
- Designed to support SAF blends
- Configurations:
- Passenger configuration: 4 passengers plus 1 pilot
- Medical configuration: 1 reclining patient, up to 2 medical personnel plus 1 pilot
From Startup to Takeoff ✈️
We begin with a question from eVTOL buzz Business Editor, Samantha Reichert: “As the founder of Zuri, what has been the most pivotal challenge you’ve faced in building the company, and how did that experience shape your approach to leadership and strategic decision-making as an entrepreneur?”
Michal Illich, Founder and CEO of Zuri: “Actually, the most pivotal changes were just before founding the company and in its initial stages. I have been an entrepreneur in technology startups since 1999, but before Zuri, all of those were software startups – search engines, blog platforms or advertising systems. So the first pivot was going into a startup which incorporates both advanced hardware and software.”
“During the first six months I spent most of my time speaking with experts, running calculations, and testing assumptions. That process defined Zuri’s core design philosophy from the very start and led us to build the aircraft around hybrid-electric propulsion, because it was clear early on that battery-only VTOL would not meet the range, payload, and operational requirements needed for regional point-to-point travel.“
Drawn to hybrid electric eVTOLs
Rough sketches made by Zuri’s Founder and CEO Michal Illich
In 2017, Michal Illich sketched his first eVTOL concept using the nearest writing tools available at the time (his children’s coloring pencils). With the support of an aerospace designer, these early ideas evolved into formal aircraft concepts that later informed Zuri’s focus on hybrid-electric propulsion and Regional Air Mobility.
TD 2.0
- Technology Demonstrator 2.0 (TD 2.0)
- Unmanned
- MTOW: 690 kg
- Cruise Speed (Vc): 200 km/h
- Target range: 200 – 250 km (development objective)
- Material: All-metal construction
Zuri 2.0
Zuri 2.0 (Future Hybrid VTOL Aircraft )
- Seating Capacity: 5 (1 pilot plus 4 passengers)
- MTOW: 2,800 kg
- Cruise Speed (Vc): 350 km/h
- Range: 700 km (design objective)
- Material: Composite construction
Zuri Family Day
Next, a question from eVTOL buzz Editor-in-Chief Julian Orkisz: “If we look back to 2017, when you made your first eVTOL sketch using your children’s crayons, simply because they were the closest tools during a moment of inspiration, and then fast-forward to the end of 2025, when children were using crayons to color giant printouts of Technology Demonstrator 2.0 during Zuri Family Day in your new R&D facility, there seems to be a poetic symmetry. Do you see it that way?”
Michal Illich: “Yes, it is a nice touch. What we are building is not an aircraft just for a small luxury market. Sooner or later, Zuri should be transporting families. When you take everything into account, including the time and money saved by avoiding airports, a regional trip using a hybrid electric VTOL should become affordable for many people.“
Turning Paper Into Practice
Footage of Zuri’s first technology demonstrator conducting hover flight, filmed in September 2021 (watch below):
Below is a video showing a key development milestone for Zuri: the first flight of its next-generation hybrid VTOL technology demonstrator in April 2024.
By April 2025, Zuri completed its first transition flight from vertical hover to horizontal cruise using a subscale technology demonstrator (see the video below):
Julian Orkisz: “And on a personal level, how does it feel as an entrepreneur to go from transferring an idea onto paper to leading a team with a new facility that’s positioning Zuri as an emerging industrial leader in Regional Air Mobility?”
Michal Illich: “We still have a long way to go. We are no longer a small team experimenting with drones, but we are also not yet a large company testing a final product. Right now we are in the middle stage, with an 11-meter aircraft already flight tested in VTOL mode and a second, more advanced demonstrator now in production that includes tilt-rotor architecture and significantly more complex electronics.“
Julian Orkisz: “Zuri began as a founder-led vision rather than a spinout from a large aerospace group. What advantages, and challenges, does that bring when building an eVTOL company from the ground up in Europe?”
Michal Illich: “Building Zuri as a founder-led company allowed us to design the aircraft around a single, clear mission from the very beginning. Large aerospace organizations are structured to optimize existing platforms, often rooted in legacy design frameworks, which makes disruptive development cycles more difficult. In VTOL, many of the core innovations are therefore coming from startups built from the ground up around a clear technological goal.“
“Europe offers many strengths, including exceptional engineering talent, strong public infrastructure, and a stable environment for building deep-technology companies. The main challenge is access to late-stage growth capital. Compared with the United States, it is still significantly harder in Europe to raise the large funding rounds required to bring a new aircraft program to market.“
Entrepreneurship
Julian Orkisz: “At several industry panels I’ve attended, access to capital has been a recurring theme. In the U.S., an eVTOL founder described securing substantial funding in Manhattan after only a few conversations with the right investors, and OEMs in the US have also benefited from grants and programs from AFWERX and other defense related initiatives. Regarding the UK, I’ve covered multiple organizations specifically designed to encourage aerospace entrepreneurship. As the founder and CEO of one of the few eVTOL OEMs in Europe, which is also a pioneer within Regional Air Mobility, how do you assess the EU climate for startups in terms of access to capital? What do you see as the key opportunities and structural challenges of building a European eVTOL OEM today?”
Michal Illich: “It is challenging. Zuri is progressing well, but the gap between the United States and Europe in access to growth capital remains substantial. Across general venture investment, deep-tech, and aerospace, the U.S. ecosystem consistently deploys far larger funding volumes, which directly impacts how quickly new aircraft programs can scale.“
Julian Orkisz: “A favorite saying of some of my close friends is that there is always room for improvement. Are there any ways that the EU, national governments of Europe, or private organizations, can help close the gap between the high level of European talent, and the access to capital required for entrepreneurs, designers, and engineers in Europe to maximize their brilliance and talent to the fullest potential?
Michal Illich: “In the near term, one practical way to help close the gap is to encourage U.S. investors, as well as investors from other global markets, to diversify into Europe. From a portfolio diversification perspective, I believe it is increasingly attractive for American investors to allocate a portion of their capital internationally, and Europe offers a stable environment to do so. The EU benefits from strong rule of law, low levels of crime, accessible healthcare and education, and a deep engineering tradition. Together, these factors create a solid foundation for building long-term aerospace companies in Europe.“
AERO Friedrichshafen
- Europe’s premier general aviation airshow
- Held annually in June
- Over 32,000 visitors arriving from than 80 nations
- More than 500 journalists from all over the world
- Zuri generates great interest at their booth from visitors and media alike, which gets stronger every year since they began exhibiting at AERO Friedrichshafen
Zuri at AERO Friedrichshafen in 2024 (watch below):
Airtec International Supply Fair
- The main trade show in Europe for the aerospace supply chains
- Covers Aerospace, Defence & Security
- Zuri’s booth, with Founder and CEO Michal Illich in the center, was featured on the front cover of Airtec’s 2025 Exhibitor Initiation brochure
Hybrid-Electric: Takes the Best of Both Worlds, to Travel the World
Julian Orkisz: “We see across the eVTOL OEMs, the recent shift and adoption of hybrid-electric propulsion for longer range flights. While most OEMs have started with a focus on Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and have recently pivoted towards Regional Air Mobility (RAM), Zuri has been adamant about Regional Air Mobility since its inception. When Zuri’s hybrid-electric eVTOLs enter the production phase, all of Zuri’s eVTOLs will be capable of making intercity flights with a 700 km range. By comparison, most of the other OEMs will be built for UAM flights. How can Zuri capitalize on this advantage?”
Michal Illich: “For short urban trips and distances below roughly 150 kilometers, we strongly believe that ground transportation will remain the most efficient option in most cases. The real value of flight begins to appear at regional distances beyond roughly 350 kilometers, where time savings become meaningful and battery-only aircraft face practical limitations.“
“That is the segment Zuri has focused on from the beginning. Regional air travel is already a multi-billion dollar market, and hybrid-electric VTOL makes it possible to connect cities directly, point to point, without relying on traditional airport infrastructure. This opens routes and use cases that simply do not exist today, particularly for underserved or difficult-to-reach regions.“
Cargo & Logistics
Cargo that can be airlifted across distances of 700+ kilometers (435 miles), and logistics operated within a Regional Air Mobility (RAM) framework rather than a “hub and spoke” model, means direct flights to where products are actually meant to be delivered. Efficiency, less handling of fragile packages, and less energy consumed means a superior logistics and shipping ecosystem.
Medical Transport and Evacuation
The VTOL capabilities and multi-rotor architecture of Zuri’s hybrid VTOL aircraft are intended to support stable hover and access to difficult locations. Zuri’s hybrid-electric propulsion is being designed to extend operational reach and improve mission efficiency for medical transport missions, with the goal of enabling faster response times. The program’s long-term objective is to deliver an efficient platform for life-saving operations.
Dual Use Applications
Julian Orkisz: “Zuri is often recognized as an emerging tech company and a pioneering eVTOL OEM, particularly using hybrid technology for longer-range flights. Beyond commercial mobility, your hybrid eVTOLs also have medical and defense applications, which will provide strategic advantages to fleets that include Zuri aircraft. Do you foresee Zuri establishing a dedicated defense subsidiary in the future? In your view, should European policymakers consider Zuri a critical asset for European defense and security? If so, are there specific European policies, programs, or funding mechanisms that could support Zuri in taking on this strategic role within the European defense sector?”
Michal Illich: “Our primary focus remains civil applications, with passenger transport as the core mission, followed by cargo and medical services. But yes, dual-use application is something we are thinking about a lot, since Russia invaded Ukraine.“
“Public funding frameworks in Europe are gradually adapting to this reality, and defense-related innovation is no longer treated as a taboo topic. However, there is still a lack of focused, well-coordinated programs that support the development of next-generation aerospace platforms with both civil and strategic value.“
About the Founder
Michal Illich
- Founder and CEO of Zuri
- Entrepreneur and angel investor
- Founded or co-founded tech companies with a focus on:
- SaaS monitoring tools
- Search engines
- Startup acceleration
- Previous ventures include:
- Jyxo
- blog.cz
- StartupYard
Michal Illich is a Czech entrepreneur and angel investor who previously founded or co-founded multiple technology companies in search, publishing platforms, SaaS monitoring tools, and startup acceleration. His past ventures include Jyxo and blog.cz, which together reached millions of users and were acquired by Central European Media Enterprises, as well as StartupYard, one of the longest-running private accelerators in Central and Eastern Europe.
Both Julian Orkisz, Editor-in-Chief, and Samantha Reichert, Business Editor at eVTOL buzz would like to personally thank Mr. Michal Illich, Founder and CEO of Zuri, for taking the time to graciously answer our questions for this article.
Stay tuned for more coverage from eVTOL Buzz as we continue to follow Zuri, the Czech hybrid-electric eVTOL OEM led by a visionary CEO and founder, as it moves ever closer to its goal of becoming a global leader in the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and Regional Air Mobility (RAM) sectors.
More Info:
Zuri (official website): click here
Official Website of Michal Illich: click here
Zuri’s eVTOL, the Czech RAM climbing its way to the top of Regional Air Mobility: click here
Zuri Family Day: Opening Our R&D Workshop to the People Who Inspire Our Work: click here
Central European Media Enterprises Acquires Leading Blog Site in the Czech Republic: click here
Would you fly in a pilotless plane? Concept craft ideal for island hopping that could carry four passengers up to 434 miles is unveiled by a Czech travel firm: click here
Zuri’s Next-Gen VTOL Drone Achieves Successful First Flight: click here
Jyxo.cz wikipedia page (in Czech): click here
Zuri at AERO Friedrichshafen 2025: Shaping the Future of Hybrid VTOL and Regional Air Mobility: click here
Michal Illich: “Know your Competition.”: click here
Testomato (official website): click here
Article (in Czech) about TechSquare and it’s cease of operations: click here
StartupYard (Official website): click here
AERO Friedrichshafen (Official website): click here
Airtec International Supply Fair Exhibition (Official website): click here