Kilsar, a Virginia Beach-based company focused on transforming aviation maintenance and training through technology, has successfully closed a $3.7 million seed round. This funding was co-led by Lightbank and New York-based Cotulla Holdings, with participation from Techstars and Lithuania’s Scalewolf. The investment marks a significant step forward in Kilsar’s mission to address the pressing challenges in aviation maintenance training and workforce readiness.

The company has announced a strategic partnership with the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), one of the largest aviation training institutions in the United States. This collaboration is aimed at modernizing the training pipeline for aviation technicians, ensuring they are equipped to meet the evolving demands of the industry. Kilsar’s founder and CEO, Brendan Lawlor, emphasized the importance of capturing and scaling the knowledge of retiring maintainers to prepare the next generation of technicians.

Kilsar is developing an AI-powered platform, Orion, designed to bridge the gap in aviation maintenance training. The platform captures expert insights from veteran technicians and transforms complex maintenance procedures into interactive, step-by-step digital workflows. This innovation is expected to empower both new learners and active maintainers by enabling faster upskilling, reducing diagnosis times, and enhancing operational confidence and precision.

The funding will be utilized to expand Kilsar’s engineering and deployment teams, accelerate the onboarding process across defense and commercial maintenance organizations, and further develop Orion’s real-time AI assistant. This assistant aims to replace traditional static manuals with searchable, enriched content, revolutionizing how maintenance knowledge is accessed and applied.

Cotulla Holdings, a private equity fund making its first venture investment in Kilsar, brings a wealth of experience from the air transportation sector. This partnership underscores the potential of Kilsar’s technology to make a significant impact on both commercial and defense aviation maintenance sectors, addressing the urgent need for revitalization in the face of declining student interest in trades and the aging out of experienced technicians.

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