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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Source: Volocopter GmbH