Volocopter raises $170 million Series E funding
Image Credits: TechCrunch
Urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter has raised $170 million as a part of its Series E funding which is targeted to be a cumulative $330 million to $550 million. The current round propelled the company to a $1.87 billion post-money valuation and was led by a new investor, WP Investment, with participation from Honeywell, and existing investors including Atlantia, Whysol, and btov Partners. Former notable backers include Geely, Mercedes-Benz Group, Intel Capital, and BlackRock.
The new capital will enable it to fuel its first air taxi services in cities including Singapore, Rome, and Paris. A spokesperson of the Germany-based startup has said that the commercial launch will depend on the type and timing of the certification that it will obtain. The aim is to commence commercial flights by Paris Olympics 2024. “This funding round is a testament to Volocopter’s leading position in what is a highly attractive emerging market. We continue to make significant technical and commercial progress as we work toward bringing urban air mobility to life at scale in cities worldwide,” said CEO, Florian Reuter.
For the past 10 years, the company has been in the business of developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft including its three taxi fleets- the VoloCity, VoloConnect, and VoloDrone. To date, it has completed around 1,000 public and private test flights. “We are confident that Volocopter will be among the first to bring UAM to cities globally, since seeing its aircraft fly in Seoul last year. As a leader in ESG investment, we are excited to empower city sustainability through Volocopter,” expressed Dr. Lei Wang, chairman of WP Investment.
In 2017, the company ran its first autonomous flying car test in Dubai. Further, Intel also imported and showcased Volocopter’s self-flying capabilities at an over-the-top event of its own. However, the announcement of the new funding round does not make mention of autonomy or self-driving capabilities. Volocopter has confirmed with Techcrunch that the first commercial services will be piloted. “The VoloCity will have the technical capability to fly crewed, remotely piloted, and autonomous at the time of commercial launch,” a spokesperson said. “However, we feel that public acceptance will be easier with a piloted flight. Once urban air mobility adoption increases and cities have regulations allowing non-crewed forms of flight, we will gradually move towards remotely or autonomous flights,” he added.
The company has also confirmed that it ultimately plans to go public. “Volocopter has spectacular investors from around the globe, which puts us in an excellent position to focus on our first-to-certification and first-to-market strategies before we embark on the path to public listing,” said CCO, Christian Bauer.
