Toyota infused $384 Million in Aerospace Company Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation has secured a total of $590 Million in the latest Series C round of funding.

Toyota Motors Corporation led the funding round with $384 Million investment along with the participation of Intel capital, Global Oryx, AME Cloud Ventures, SPARX Group, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Baillie Gifford, and Capricorn Investment Group.

Founded in 2009, California based Joby Aviation builds a new generation of electric personal aircraft.  The company enabling air taxi service by developing and commercializing all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (designated by the FAA as the S4). Including the latest funding round, Joby Aviation has secured a total of $721 Million in funding over five founds, according to CrunchBase.

As of now, the company is planning to build an in-house electric air taxi service that will use an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Executive Opinion

Joby Aviation founder and CEO, JoeBen Bevirt, said, "We are building a new system for transportation to transform your daily life, at greater safety and, in time, at a similar cost to driving. This collaboration with Toyota represents an unprecedented commitment of money and resources for us, and this new industry from one of the world’s leading automakers. Toyota is known globally for the quality and reliability of its products driven by meticulous attention to detail and manufacturing processes. I am excited to harness Toyota’s engineering and manufacturing prowess, helping to drive us to achieve our dream of saving a billion people an hour a day."

Toyota President and CEO, Akio Toyoda, said, "Air transportation has been a long-term goal for Toyota, and while we continue our work in the automobile business, this agreement sets our sights to the sky. As we take up the challenge of air transportation together with Joby, an innovator in the emerging eVTOL space, we tap the potential to revolutionize future transportation and life. Through this new and exciting endeavor, we hope to deliver freedom of movement and enjoyment to customers everywhere, on land, and now, in the sky.'

Toyota and Joby Aviation

The strategic collaboration with Toyota will open the path for Joby Aviation to experience automotive manufacturing, cost control, and quality for the development of its aircraft right from the beginning. This will allow Joby Aviation in the development and production of Joby Aviation’s all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

As of now, the startup is working towards its aircraft’s FAA certificate, notes the announcement.

Joby Aviation is one of the rising players in the electric air-taxi market. Its competitors are Kitty Hawk, Hyundai, and Airbus SE, which has also announced some of its plans to design and manufacture an air taxi with the help of Uber Technologies.