Volocopter, a German business that develops electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) helicopters, has raised $182 million in its Series E investment. This is in addition to the $170 million Volocopter raised in March for the same round at a $1.87 billion post-money value.
Volocopter is now testing its two-seater VoloCity air taxi by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s regulations (EASA). The new funding will go toward the company’s testing regime, which will help it get closer to Special Condition for small-category VTOL aircraft certification and commercialization. According to the business, Volocopter intends to certify its aircraft by the second half of 2023 and start its first revenue-generating rides by 2024.
So far, the EASA gave Volocopter Design Organization Approval in 2019 and Production Organization Approval in 2021 – two conditions for attaining type certification and commercializing the VoloCity.
According to a spokesperson, the additional funds to Volocopter’s Series E will also help prepare the urban air mobility ecosystem — including infrastructure, integration with other modes of transportation, and public awareness — so that when the VoloCity is certified, Volocopter can begin offering rides immediately.
“First commercial operations will be a small number of Volocopters flying on specific routes (maybe one or two) with paying customers,” Helena Treeck, Volocopter’s head of PR, told TechCrunch via email. “From there, the network of routes will continuously grow to offer more and more routes and flights on connections, where we can really add value (beyond the fantastic view) to our customers, like time savings and predictability of services.”
The VoloCity made its first crewed public test flight earlier this month from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, where the business also demonstrated its VoloIQ digital platform, which Volocopter claims supports everything from client reservations to flight operations. That may make Rome Volocopter the top choice for market launch, but places such as Singapore, Paris, and Neom, a smart city being planned north of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Province, are also on the table.
Neom was the main investor in this round, together with GLy Capital Management of Hong Kong, a Geely-backed private equity firm focused on smart automobiles, electrification, and intelligent cities. Last December, Neom and Volocopter launched a joint venture firm to integrate the VoloCity air taxi and the VoloDrone, the startup’s heavy-lifting electric drone, with Neon’s connected mobility solutions. The city has already ordered 15 Volocopter aircraft, with beginning flight operations set to commence within the next one to two years.
In addition, Volocopter has signed a joint venture with Geely Holding to offer urban air mobility to China. The JV agreed to buy 150 Volocopter helicopters last year, and Geely is anticipated to help with production.