Big news recently dropped straight from Governor Spanberger’s office: REaKTOR portfolio company, Tidal Flight, is accelerating with a $538,000 investment to lease 13,000 square feet of hangar space at Chesapeake Regional Airport and hire six new team members — tripling their workforce. This is the kind of momentum that screams “Hampton Roads is open for business” in advanced air mobility.
We’ve been in Tidal Flight’s corner since incubating them through the REaKTOR program back in 2023. Founded by three Georgia Tech aerospace engineers — Jude Augustine, Pranav Krishnamurthy, and Mark Lau — the startup is building the Polaris, a hybrid-electric amphibious seaplane designed to carry 9–12 passengers on flexible 100–500 mile coastal routes. Think direct water-to-water hops that skip crowded airports, slash fuel use by 85%, cut operating costs by 40%, and drop takeoff noise dramatically.
With the new hangar, they’ll ramp up full-scale subsystem testing and prototyping right here in Chesapeake.
“We are excited to expand our presence here in Hampton Roads,” said Co-Founder & CEO Jude Augustine. “This is a region with a strong combination of aerospace and naval engineering talent, incredible maritime assets, and deep defense sector presence that make it a perfect place to build the aircraft manufacturer of the future.”
The founders didn’t originally have ties here — they literally looked at a U.S. map and picked Hampton Roads for its unbeatable combination of waterways, talent, and maritime expertise. As CTO Pranav Krishnamurthy put it, “We’re building a seaplane, so we need naval plus aerospace engineering talent. You have NASA Langley, plus all the shipbuilding here. It’s kind of the perfect combination.”
This expansion stands as proof that Hampton Roads can be at the forefront as the launchpad for the next chapter in sustainable aviation. From REaKTOR incubation to real jobs, real hangars, and real regional impact, Tidal Flight is writing the entrepreneurial story we live for.
Huge congrats to Jude, Pranav, Mark, and the whole team on building something remarkable that continues to move from bold vision to actualized transformation of flight!
