AIRO Group Holdings Inc., a multi-faceted air mobility, autonomy and aerospace platform co-founded by Dr Chirinjeev Kathuria, is entering into a merger agreement with Kernel Group Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
According to the press statement, the agreement will help AIRO to become a publicly listed company through a new Delaware holding company, AIRO Group Inc that will acquire Kernel and AIRO. AIRO and Kernel will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of PubCo.
Indian American Dr Kathuria is the executive chairman and co-founder of AIRO. He is an entrepreneur, investor, physician, philanthropist, and graduate of Brown University’s School of Medicine and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
According to the press statement, AIRO is positioned to create a new middle-market aerospace and defense sector company operating in four key divisions - advanced avionics, electric air mobility, uncrewed air system, and training.
Kathuria listed four key factors in the attractiveness of AIRO; firstly the strength of the brands and existing orders and contracts, secondly a diversified yet synergistic portfolio that is already proving its robustness with AIRO’s support of drone technologies in Ukraine, thirdly a training division that is participating in the $6.40 billion US Department of Defense contract program to provide Close Air Support, Intelligence, Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Adversary Air training, and lastly a management team with significant experience and global successes that span an evolving defense and aerospace marketplace.
Hoping that the merger will result in positive valuations and long-term growth, Kernel chairman and CEO Suren Ajjarapu, said, “AIRO leverages decades of industry expertise across the drone services, aviation, and avionics markets to offer a sector-leading enterprise providing innovative aerospace, urban air mobility, and UAS products and services."
