Flying Taxi Fueled by Investors

Joby Aviation's $590 Million Investor Infusion

Source:  Joby Aviation VTOL

Toyota Lead Investor

There's a flying taxi readying for takeoff.  Joby Aviation, which develops electric flying taxis, has secured $590 million in investment money.  Toyota is the lead player at $394 million, followed by Intel Capital, Jet Blue VC and Toyota's AI Ventures.  Joby Aviation, headquartered in northern California, has developed a very impressive VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle.

Electric VTOL

Joby's flying taxi goes up to 200 mph, 150 miles + on a single charge, is 100-times more quiet than conventional aircraft and has zero carbon emissions.  The vehicle seats 4 passengers, vertically takes off like a helicopter and smoothly transitions to forward flight.  The $590 million is the biggest investment ever made in a flying taxi company.

Big Players

eVTOLs are the hottest category of flying cars.  Six urban air mobility vehicles are currently moving forward in the FAA's certification process. The players are big.  For instance, Bell has a full sized prototype, the  4EX air taxi.  Hyundai just unveiled its S-A1 at CES 2020.  And Uber is working on its prototypes, which it will test fly this year and launch in LA, Melbourne and Dallas in 2023.

Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

Overall, $2 billion in R&D money has been invested in eVTOLs.  There are estimates that the market for eVTOLs will hit $500 million by 2025 and $2 billion by 2035.