Volocopter Raises USD 170 million in First Signing of Series E Financing Round
PR94823
BRUCHSAL, Germany, March 4, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility, has raised USD 170 million in
the initial signing of its Series E funding round led by South Korean investor
WP Investment, at a pre-money valuation of USD 1.7 billion. Composed of funds
by new and existing investors, the money raised will assist with the
certification of Volocopter's electric passenger air taxi and is expected to
help Volocopter achieve commercial launch in first cities worldwide.
Volocopter is developing new and sustainable mobility options for cities around
the world. With its family of aircraft (the VoloCity, VoloConnect, and
VoloDrone), the company takes a unique approach by developing urban air
mobility (UAM) as a holistic ecosystem. Having ten years of development
experience, Volocopter is the clear leader in the urban air mobility space. As
the first and only electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company to
receive Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the European Union Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA), Volocopter has committed to launching commercial air taxi
services in cities like Singapore, Rome, and Paris.
"This funding round is a testament to Volocopter's leading position in what is
a highly attractive emerging market. We continue to make significant technical
and commercial progress as we work toward bringing urban air mobility to life
at scale in cities worldwide," said Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter.
Christian Bauer, CCO of Volocopter, said: "Volocopter has spectacular investors
from around the globe, which puts us in an excellent position to focus on our
first-to-certification and first-to-market strategies before we embark on the
path to public listing. I'm excited to accelerate our path to commercial launch
together with investors, partners, and the phenomenal Volocopter team!"
WP Investment based in Seoul, Republic of Korea, is a leading and new investor
for Volocopter in this funding round. Following this announcement, Volocopter
and WP Investment will enter into a strategic partnership by creating a joint
venture that will soon bring urban air mobility to South Korea's cities.
"We are confident that Volocopter will be among the first to bring UAM to
cities globally, since seeing its aircraft fly in Seoul last year. As a leader
in ESG investment, we are excited to empower city sustainability through
Volocopter," says Dr. Lei Wang, Chairman of WP Investment. Co-Chairman Tiffany
Park said: "We are excited to kick off our joint venture and be the first to
establish sustainable eVTOL logistics and air taxi services with Volocopter in
Korea."
New investors in Volocopter include WP Investment and Honeywell, amongst
others. Many existing investors including Atlantia, Whysol, and btov Partners,
have also reinvested in this round.
"We decided to strengthen our investment in Volocopter because we strongly
believe in its ability to rapidly bring to life this innovative and sustainable
mobility," said Elisabetta De Bernardi, Investment Director Europe for
Atlantia. "We will continue to promote urban air mobility, a fast-growing
business that can help reduce emissions and traffic in large cities."
"Our successful first signing of Series E brings phenomenal new investors on
board, with further in the due diligence stage. This private funding round
allows us to stay focused on our mission to bring sustainable urban air
mobility to life," said Stefan Klocke, Chairman of Volocopter's Advisory Board.
"We have never been in a stronger position: we are financially diversified,
certification of the aircraft is within reach, and we are demonstrating our
advanced capabilities by public flights and strong joint-ventures across the
world."
The company recently announced that it has entered a financing agreement in
principle with Aviation Capital Group (ACG) to shape the sale and leasing of
Volocopter aircraft for up to USD 1 billion. Once aircraft certification has
been achieved, this agreement will allow Volocopter to offer its operating
entities and customers worldwide attractive leasing options, a key to rapidly
scaling the business in the future.
About Volocopter
Volocopter brings urban air mobility (UAM) to megacities worldwide by creating
sustainable and scalable UAM ecosystems with partners in infrastructure and
operations. Volocopter's family of eVTOL aircraft will offer passengers
(VoloCity and VoloConnect) and goods (VoloDrone) swift, secure, and
emission-free connections to their destinations, supported by VoloIQ, the UAM
ecosystem's software platform. As a pioneer in the UAM industry, Volocopter
will launch commercial services within the next few years. The company employs
500 people in Germany and Singapore and raised $579 million from investors,
including Geely, WP Investment, Mercedes-Benz Group, Intel Capital, and
BlackRock. www.volocopter.com
Photo -
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Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1626551/Volocopter_Logo.jpg
Source: Volocopter GmbH
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