Natilus and Palantir Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Production of Sustainable Commercial Aircraft

Palantir’s advanced AI-based operating system will supercharge Natilus’s engineering, design and manufacturing as it rapidly scales U.S. production capabilities for blended-wing aircraft

SAN DIEGO, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Natilus, an aerospace manufacturer of blended-wing-body aircraft, today announced a strategic partnership with Palantir Technologies Inc. to advance the production of sustainable aircraft in the U.S. Through the collaboration, Natilus and Palantir are deploying an AI-based operating system to accelerate the development of innovative approaches to design, engineering and manufacturing and streamline Natilus’s operations and strengthen its supply chain.

In an era of critically constrained access to aircraft components, market demand for cargo and passenger aircraft is outpacing domestic manufacturing capabilities. With the aviation industry challenged to operate more sustainably, cargo and passenger airlines are eager to pursue more technologically advanced approaches to deliver elevated yet economical fleet operations.

To address the market demand, Natilus is developing a family of blended-wing-body aircraft for commercial operations. With an advanced carbon fiber airframe design, Natilus’s family of aircraft includes a regional blended-wing-body freighter KONA, and a 200-passenger aircraft, the HORIZON, which both offer major advantages in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and payload capacity.

“The U.S. desperately needs a boost in aircraft manufacturing, and Natilus is operating at the forefront of sustainable aircraft manufacturing,” said Aleksey Matyushev, Co-Founder and CEO of Natilus. “We made a commitment to build the first manufacturing facility for the world’s most efficient commercial aircraft here in the U.S. Our success hinges on accelerating our production capabilities, and leveraging Palantir’s AI-driven platform will allow us to transform our manufacturing operations to run more efficiently and meet customer demand for the cargo and passenger markets.”

Natilus is deploying Palantir Warp Speed for its operations, providing AI-driven data, analytics and modeling to drive real-time decision making. Through the collaboration, Natilus will initially focus on increasing supply chain resiliency and manufacturing efficiency, and further down the line, offering its cargo and passenger customers key insights to enable predictive maintenance, disruption recovery and capture real-time aircraft performance data for product optimization.

“Natilus is delivering the future of sustainable aircraft, and we are extremely proud of deploying software that supports the sustained competitive advantage of their blended-wing-body aircraft,” said Emily Nguyen, Head of Industrials at Palantir. “By providing the foundation on which Natilus will integrate all aspects of their aircraft design, engineering and manufacturing, Palantir is committed to helping Natilus build faster and strengthen the U.S.’s position in the global aviation landscape.”

About Natilus
Natilus is a San Diego-based company developing a family of hyper-efficient blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft designed to transport people and cargo more sustainably and efficiently than ever before. Natilus’s BWB aircraft unlock improved aviation economics by reducing fuel consumption by 30% while increasing payload capability by 40%. Founded in 2016, the Natilus team is comprised of innovators from General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, Skunkworks, SpaceX, and Piper Aircraft. Learn more at natilus.co.