Inflection Point Acquisition Corporation IV (BACQ)

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Merlin Labs (Autonomous Flight Technology)
Overview

Merlin is a venture-backed aerospace startup focused on crafting a non-human pilot system—the Merlin Pilot—capable of full takeoff-to-touchdown autonomy. It's designed for both civil and military aircraft, enabling reduced-crew or uncrewed flight operations.

The company is headquartered in Boston, with offices in Los Angeles, Denver, and New Zealand. It also operates testing facilities in the Mojave Desert and Kerikeri, New Zealand, and is planning expansion at Hanscom Field in Massachusetts.

Key Milestones & Partnerships

In 2025, Merlin received an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority, enabling certification flight testing of their autonomy system on aircraft like the Cessna Caravan.

Partnered with Honeywell to integrate its autonomy system with the Honeywell Anthem avionics suite for both military and eventual commercial aircraft.

Completed over 25 autonomy test flights in Alaska using a Cessna 208B Caravan under a $1 million FAA contract, marking the first such integration into the national airspace system.

Released a whitepaper exploring near-term enhancements in aviation safety through human–machine teaming to address issues like fatigue, communication clarity, and workload management.

Engaged in major partnerships with Northrop Grumman, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the Air Force to deploy the Merlin Pilot on platforms like the C-130J and KC-135.

Raised significant capital: initial $25M round in 2021, followed by a $105M Series B (co-led by Baillie Gifford, GV, and others).

Preparing to go public via a SPAC merger with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. I, backed by Inflection Point Asset Management. The deal values Merlin at approximately $800 million pre-money and is expected to close in early 2026.

Vision & Approach

Merlin adopts a phased rollout—from acting as a copiloting assistant in smaller aircraft (Phase 1), to replacing the second human pilot in transport aircraft (Phase 2), and ultimately to full autonomous operations (Phase 3).

The company emphasizes high assurance, certification pathways, and regulatory alignment as core to its mission of delivering autonomous flight safely.

Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. I is a blank check company that aims to merge with or acquire a business in the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector. The company's stock trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol BACQU.

Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. I was formed by Andrew Gundlach and Michel Combes.
Gundlach is the CEO and Chairman of Bleichroeder, an investment advisor for wealthy families.
Combes was previously the CEO of SoftBank Group International and Sprint.

IPO

In October 2024, the company announced a $250 million initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO offered 25 million units at $10 each.
Each unit included one share of common stock and one right to receive one-tenth of a share after the completion of a business combination.

Trading

The units began trading on November 1, 2024.