Future of flying? JetZero CEO takes on Airbus and Boeing with jet that aims to cut emissions in half

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Tom O'Leary is on a mission to reshape how we fly. He's the co-founder and CEO of JetZero, an aviation startup building a blended-wing body aircraft that aims to use up to 50% less fuel than today's commercial jets. That means it could, in theory, cut both fuel burn and emissions in half — making it cheaper and greener for airlines to operate. The pitch? Helping carriers dramatically reduce costs on what's typically their single biggest expense — fuel — while helping them hit emissions targets more easily. Sounds simple, right? Not quite. JetZero is trying to take flight in an industry long dominated by a duopoly — Boeing and Airbus — where new entrants face enormous technical, financial and regulatory barriers for obvious reasons.  Yet the California-based company is backed by the US Air Force and United Airlines, and targeting commercial service in the early 2030s. Before launching JetZero, Tom worked at Tesla and aviation startup BETA Technologies. In this conversation, we get into: | 00:20 — Introduction  | 01:58 — Early life – growing up in New England  | 02:46 — Entrepreneurial drive in childhood  | 03:40 — Early spark – thinking about the environment as a kid  | 04:32 — O'Leary's career – learning from incumbents vs. new market entrants, like Ford and Tesla  | 06:54 — Working at Tesla in its early days and lessons from Elon Musk  | 08:24 — Leadership lessons from O'Leary's first job as a school teacher and coach  | 13:51 — Breaking down the Z4's blended-wing body design  | 15:00 — Catering to aviation's underserved "middle market" - flights of 200 to 250 passengers  | 18:07 — Founding JetZero and meeting his co-founder through Beta Technologies | 21:58 — Navigating industry red tape | 25:31 — Partnerships & funding  | 29:12 — Industry pain points  |30:51 — Company milestones and a "pinch-me moment" – $300M raised, winning the US Air Force grant, working with NASA  | 32:58 — Teaming up with airlines like United, Alaska and Delta  | 34:48 — The passenger experience – what it would be like to travel on a