Jonathan Polotto

Involve • CEO and Chair of the Board

Jonathan is an aerospace entrepreneur, innovator and business leader driven by a lifelong passion for pushing the boundaries of exploration and technology in the stratosphere. His journey began at the age of 16 when, inspired by a stratospheric balloon experiment, he designed, built and launched his own probe. What started as a personal project soon evolved into a series of increasingly ambitious missions, including a record-breaking launch that sent a pizza into the stratosphere at an altitude of 47,000 metres, demonstrating both technical ingenuity and an unconventional approach to innovation that attracted national media attention and laid the foundations for his future entrepreneurial ventures. Jonathan founded Involve Space in 2021 with the vision of making stratospheric technologies accessible, scalable and impactful. Today, the company is recognised as one of Europe's leading innovators in the HAPS ecosystem, developing advanced stratospheric platforms and proprietary AI technologies that transform high-altitude data into actionable intelligence for defence, EO and flight validation. As Founder, CEO and Chairman, Jonathan has led the company through rapid growth, raising more than €16 million in funding, completing hundreds of successful flights and expanding operations internationally, including into the United States. Under his leadership, Involve Space has positioned itself at the forefront of a new generation of aerospace solutions that bridge the gap complement the more established drones and satellites. Alongside his entrepreneurial achievements, Jonathan has earned degrees and advanced certifications in Space Studies. His journey reflects a combination of vision, determination and calculated risk-taking, driven by the belief that the edge of the stratosphere is only the beginning of what is possible.

Events

77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026)

5 - 9 October 2026

Antalya, Türkiye

Participation: