Volocopter will accelerate the development of its flying taxis

Volocopter, a German start-up specializing in delivery drones and flying taxis, has announced that it has raised $170 million thanks to a new funding round led by WP Investment. Thanks to this new financial contribution, the company wishes to continue the development of its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). In the line of sight, obtaining the certification adapted for the transport of passengers.

A strategic round table for the future deployment of a flying taxi service

Thanks to this Series E funding round and with the participation of new investment funds like Honeywell, the company is now valued at $1.7 billion and has raised a total of $569 million since its inception. With this new fundraiser, Volocopter will try to launch its own passenger transport service, the famous flying taxis.

” We continue to make significant technical and business advancements as we strive to bring large-scale urban air mobility to life in cities around the world. ” specifies the CEO of Volocopter, Florian Reuter, in a communicated. He affirms that ” this new funding round demonstrates Volocopter’s leading position in a very attractive emerging market “.

In addition to its participation in the round, the South Korean fund WP Investment will enter into a strategic partnership to create a joint venture with Volocopter. It will offer urban air mobility services in cities in South Korea. Elsewhere in the world, the commercial flying taxi service is of interest in Singapore or Rome.

In France, the organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games hope to offer visitors this unique service. Volocopter appears as a natural candidate, Airbus has also placed itself. Nice airport also wants to offer its users a flying taxi service in 2024, between the terminal and the city center.

What are Volocopter’s areas of work?

In order to obtain the necessary certification for the commercial launch of its flying taxis, the start-up is working on the design and/or improvement of several devices:

• The VoloCity. This is the eVTOL which will be at the heart of the future flying taxi service adapted to urban environments.
• The VoloConnect is the latest device introduced by Volocopter. It is also intended for the transport of passengers in urban areas, but for medium distances, connecting suburbs and city centers.
• The VoloDrone is the drone designed by the company and intended for industrial use cases: spreading on fields, transporting goods, etc.
• VoloIQ will be a digital platform to manage the different mobility services.
• VoloPort will be a physical platform for the landing and take-off of VoloCity or VoloConnect.

By 2019, the company had proven that its flying taxi was compatible with the rest of air traffic. More recently, Volocopter obtained DOA (Design Organization Approval) approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and certification allowing it to carry out test flights within a limited scope. It wishes to carry out in the coming weeks or months, a series of tests of its eVTOL at the aerodrome of Pontoise.

These tests are very important: on February 16, 2022, an aircraft from Joby Aviation, one of Volocopter’s American competitors, crashed as part of an experimental flight test program in the United States. Fortunately, across the Atlantic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the American equivalent of EASA, asks companies that develop eVTOLs not to board passengers, or even pilots. However, this accident is likely to put a damper on the development of this emerging sector. Volocopter will have to prove during its tests the reliability of its devices.