Electric airplane startup Joby generates 100 million dollars

Joby Aviation is another new name in the electric aviation business and is coming in hot with an impressive 100 million dollars in funding and backers such as Intel, Toyota and JetBlue. Plans include an all-electric, five seated vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The Californian startup is now worth a total of 130 million dollars and has some ambitious plans: They claim they already have a working prototype small aircraft that is “faster than existing rotorcraft, fly at least 150 miles on a charge, and be 100 times quieter than conventional aircraft during takeoff and landing, and near-silent in flyover.”

Their plan to seriously advance modern transit may soon become reality, the president of Intel Capital, Wendell Brooks, commented “This is a truly disruptive technology with the potential to push the geographic boundaries of where people can live and work”. What used to seem distant futuristic concepts may soon be reality: flying cars, or at least airplanes built for personal use in public areas may however prove to be more of a legislative issue than a technical one.

The founder of Joby had this to say: “We have spent the last ten years developing the technologies that have made our full-scale technical demonstrator possible and are now ready to build a commercial version of the aircraft. We’re excited to have attracted the backing of leaders in auto manufacturing, data intelligence, and transportation sectors” So while the prototype is already functional, there is no clear date when these vehicles will be available to the general public. We are certainly looking forward to hearing more about these aerial taxis soon!
businesswire.com