Thursday, December 19

Joby Aviation acquires Uber Flying Taxi Business

Santa Cruz, Calif. and San Francisco, Dec 09, 2020— Joby Aviation, a transportation company developing an electric, vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft raises $75 million in funding from Uber and acquires Uber Flying Taxi Business ‘Uber Elevate.

The investment from Uber comes in addition to a previously undisclosed $50 million investment made as part of Joby’s Series C financing round in January 2020.

Under the terms of this deal, Joby Aviation will acquire Uber Elevate, while the two parent companies have agreed to integrate their respective services into each other’s apps, enabling seamless integration between the ground and air travel for future customers.

Joby Aviation is planning to launch their Air Taxi service in 2023.

Established in 2016, Uber Elevate has played an important role in laying the groundwork for the aerial ridesharing market by bringing together regulators, civic leaders, real estate developers and technology companies around a shared vision for the future of air travel. Their software tools enabling market selection, demand simulation and multi-modal operations are at the center of their work, and form the basis of this future-focused deal.

Joby will operate an affordable, quiet and clean transportation service, using the revolutionary all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft it has spent the last decade developing. With a range of up to 150 miles and a top speed of 200 mph, the vehicle and the service has the potential to make a significant difference to the lives of travelers.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Uber’s new $75M investment brings its all-time total investment in Joby to $125 million and Joby Aviation’s total funding, including previous rounds, to $820 million.