EVTOL startup Joby Aviation is going public with a $6.6 billion valuation and plans to start passenger flights in 2024 - here's what we know about the company
Joby Aviation
- Joby Aviation is a leader in electric aviation and just announced plans to go public.
- Its four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and land aircraft is slated to earn certification in 2023.
- A planned merger with a Reid Hoffman-backed SPAC values the company at $6.6 billion.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Joby Aviation is among the most promising startups in the electric aviation field, boasting plans for zero-emission intra-city transportation with a fleet of four-seat electric vertical takeoff and land aircraft.
Valuable partnerships with Uber and Toyota gave the firm steady funding in recent years and solidified its reputation in the field. Industry consultants and venture capitalists all gave the 11-year-old company a vote of confidence when asked to name the best electric aviation startups by Insider in January.
Joby most recently secured a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that will bring the company public. The deal values the company at $6.6 billion and provides $910 million in private investment in public equity funding from the likes of Uber Technologies and BlackRock.
Electric aviation is an industry with no shortage of competitors as startups work to unlock the secret behind electric urban air mobility. One of its main rivals, Archer Aviation, just inked a deal with United Airlines for $1 billion in orders, for example.
And time is quickly coming for these aircraft to become a reality as Joby expects to launch commercial operations in 2024.
Here's what we know about Joby Aviation.
T. Schneider/Shutterstock.com
Source: Joby Aviation
Its flagship product is an eVTOL that promises to fly four passengers up to 150 miles. Joby says the top cruising speed will be 200 miles per hour and the aircraft can fly up to 15,000 feet above sea level.Joby Aviation
Source: Joby Aviation
An example given by the company is that a 44-mile flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newport Beach, California will only take 15 minutes.Beach Media/Shutterstock
Source: Joby Aviation
Unlike some competitors, the aircraft will be piloted and not flown autonomously or via a remote pilot. Inside the aircraft's cockpit will be the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.Garmin
Garmin
Garmin
Joby Aviation
Source: Joby Aviation
Three years later, the process to certify its aircraft began with the Federal Aviation Administration. Joby is on track to receive certification in 2023 and start commercial operations the following year.ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty
Source: Joby Aviation
The US Air Force has already given Joby an eVTOL airworthiness certificate, the first of its kind, under the Agility Prime program.Getty
Source: Joby Aviation
Joby boasts numerous high-profile investors, including Toyota. The automotive giant became a lead investor in Joby's Series C financing with a $394 million investment.Thomson Reuters
Source: Joby Aviation
Toyota also pledged to share its manufacturing know-how with Joby as part of the deal.Thomson Reuters
Source: Joby Aviation
Uber also invested $50 million in a previously-undisclosed January 2020 deal.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Uber
Source: Insider
Joby then acquired Uber Elevate in December as the ride-hailing giant had been forced to shed divisions during the pandemic. But Uber stayed on as an investor to the tune of an additional $75 million.MIKE SEGAR/Reuters
Joby Aviation
Source: Insider
Joby aims to go public by merging with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that values the company at $6.6 billion.Joe Corrigan/Getty Images
Read More: SPAC Reinvent Technology Partners surges after merger deal to list Joby Aviation on NYSE
Source: Joby Aviation
That also includes $910 million in private investment in public equity, or PIPE funding, from the likes of Uber Technologies, BlackRock, and Fidelity Management & Research.REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Source: Markets Insider and Joby Aviation
"I think of Joby as Tesla meets Uber in the air," Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder and Reinvest Technology Partners backer, told Reuters.Joby Aviation
Source: Reuters
For those looking to score a job at Joby, most engineering jobs come with six-figure salaries, according to an Insider analysis.Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation
Read More: 3 executives at top flying-car startups reveal their visions for the future of 'urban air mobility'
Bowles also envisions inter-city transport for the price of an Uber Black car, he said while speaking at the forum. "You might say 'We should have dinner in Baltimore tonight, it's a 30-minute flight and it's going to cost us similarly to Uber black, should we go?'"Joby Aviation
Source: Insider
Joby says it's flown more than 1,000 test flights and plans to start construction on a scaled manufacturing facility in 2021.Joby Aviation
Source: Joby Aviation