Aerospace startup Salient Motion has secured its first production contract by winning a deal to supply seat-actuation systems to Italian seat manufacturer Aviointeriors, which adjusts premium business-class seats from upright to lie-flat positions.
The initial award is modest but strategically crucial: it covers actuator systems for a few hundred seats that two airlines will install on Airbus and Boeing narrowbody jets, with entry into service expected in late 2026 or early 2027, according to CEO Vishaal Mali.
Salient Motion, based in Torrance, California, and founded by former Anduril employees, is proposing a model inspired by modern defense and tech hardware programs: reusing modular software and hardware components to shorten the cycle time for designing, certifying, and delivering complex parts.
The company considers seat actuators a practical entry point because they are technically challenging, controlled by a relatively small group of suppliers, and increasingly important to airline revenue strategies as carriers add and upgrade premium cabins. Reuters notes industry forecasts predicting more than 8 million seats will be needed over the next decade, amounting to about $52 billion in business over 10 years (per Tronos Aviation Consulting and AeroDynamic Advisory).
Salient Motion has raised $16 million from investors including Cantos Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, and has also collaborated with Boeing Ventures. It previously settled a trade-secret lawsuit filed by Anduril (sued in 2023; settled in 2024).
Images: Morningstar, Salient Motion