Photo courtesy of Beta Technologies
Beta Technologies Lands First Electric Airplane With Passengers at New York Airport
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Beta Technologies became the first American company to land a fully electric airplane at a New York airport on Tuesday. The 45-minute flight traveled from Long Island to John F. Kennedy International Airport, carrying four passengers and one pilot.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Beta Technologies became the first American company to land a fully electric airplane at a New York City airport.
- The ALIA CTOL plane carried four passengers and one pilot.
- The demonstration crewed flight lasted 45 minutes, taking passengers from Long Island to New York City.
According to Reuters , the company and port authorities confirmed Beta Technologies’ aircraft landing, marking a significant milestone for the company and the industry, as more transportation companies develop electric battery-powered aircraft to offer more sustainable transportation alternatives.
Beta Technologies, founded in 2017, has been developing its electric technology and going through multiple tests for years.
The Federal Aviation Administration finished its pilot training and certification, as well as the local rules for air taxis, in October last year. At that time Beta Technologies raised $318 million in a funding round to fund its certification, production, and commercialization of electric aircraft.
“After years of rigorous safety testing in all types of environments, we’re proud to stand here with the Port Authority and the city of New York to demonstrate exactly how this aircraft can serve cities by easing congestion, reducing emissions, and increasing accessibility,” said Kyle Clark, CEO and founder of Beta Technologies.
According to Electrek , Beta Technologies’ ALIA CTOL plane completed the demonstration with passengers, including Matt Koscal, Republic Airways President; and Rob Wiesenthal, Blade Air Mobility CEO—strategic partner.
“This electric aircraft flight from Long Island to New York City highlights that quiet and emission-free flight is quickly becoming a reality benefiting Blade’s fliers, local residents, and other key stakeholders,” said Wiesenthal. “I can think of no better way to demonstrate our company’s commitment to quiet, electric aircraft commercialization than my participation on this flight as a passenger myself.”
A few months ago, Virgin Atlantic announced its partnership with Joby Aviation to provide commercial services of electric air taxis in the United Kingdom. Joby said it expects to expand its services to the United States as well.
Photo by Mockuuups on Unsplash
Hackers Delete Servers of Indian Grocery Startup KiranaPro
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Hackers deleted all data belonging to the Indian grocery startup KiranaPro by wiping its servers. The company’s source code and all customer information, including sensitive data, have been destroyed
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Hackers destroy KiranaPro’s company and customer data.
- The startup’s CEO told TechCrunch that malicious actors got access to its AWS account around May 24, and they noticed on May 26.
- The company suspects a former employee who didn’t return credentials.
According to TechCrunch’s exclusive , Deepak Ravindran, KiranaPro co-founder and CEO, confirmed that malicious actors have attacked the company, but the method remains unclear. The company is investigating the incident with assistance from GitHub’s support team.
KiranaPro, launched in December 2024, allows users to buy their groceries from local shops and supermarkets in their local area. The startup had reached a user base of 50,000 with over 30,000 active customers across 50 cities in India. The company operates the Indian government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce as a buyer app, but it cannot process orders at the moment.
The startup suspects that the attackers gained access through a former employee, as they used multi-factor authentication on its AWS account, and it had been changed.
“We can only log in through the IAM [Identity and Access Management] account, through which we can see that the EC2 instances don’t exist anymore, but we are not able to get any logs or anything because we don’t have the root account,” said Kumar to TechCrunch.
The startup expects to track multiple traces and IP addresses to find the hacker and is also filing cases against a former employee who never submitted credentials
Before the incident, KiranaPro expected to expand to 100 more cities within the next few months. The company had been backed by Unpopular Ventures, Turbostart, and Blume Ventures.
Despite the concerning situation, Ravindran remains optimistic and said they will fight for justice and continue to develop their services and technology. The CEO shared an encouraging message on his Instagram account :
Even if they delete our code, they can’t delete our courage. Even if they hack our servers, they can’t hack our spirit. We built it once. We’ll build it again.
Malicious actors have also been targeting other companies in India, including India’s largest health insurer Star Health —the hacker xenZen recently sent death threats to its CEO and CFO .
