#139: Designing the Next Generation of Aircraft with Natilus

Dec 16, 2025

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In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and co-founder of Natilus, about how a new generation of blended wing-body aircraft could reshape both air cargo and, eventually, commercial passenger flight. The conversation explores why e-commerce has created a perfect moment for rethinking aircraft design, how starting with freight helps de-risk the path to passenger service, and what it will really take, from certification to autonomy, for these unusual-looking planes to start quietly moving our packages (and later, us) across the sky by the end of the decade.

Key Points:

Blended wing-body design changes the fundamentals – Unlike traditional tube-and-wing aircraft, Nautilus’ configuration lets the fuselage generate significant lift, cutting drag and improving aerodynamic efficiency.
Lower emissions per ton and per passenger – The aircraft targets around 30% lower fuel burn and can carry substantially more volume, which together translate into up to 50% lower emissions per pound of cargo or per passenger-trip.
Cargo first, passengers next – Nautilus is starting with a regional freighter to connect smaller airports and remote communities to major hubs, then scaling the same core architecture into a passenger narrow-body aircraft for longer routes.

Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and co-founder of Natilus
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Lisa Ann Pinkerton, Earthlings 2.0 Host, CEO of Technica Communications, and Founder of Women in Cleantech and Sustainability
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