Volocopter Funding: $182 Million in Second Signing Series E

Volocopter Raises $182M in Second Signing of Series E Funding Round

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Urban air mobility (UAM) leader Volocopter has closed an additional USD 182 million in funding in the second signing of its Series E round, which saw participation from new investors NEOM and GLy Capital Management.

With its UAM ecosystem, Volocopter offers a fully electric solution made specifically for urban missions, ferrying goods and passengers with its multipurpose electric aircraft (the VoloCity, VoloRegion, and VoloDrone), and providing the necessary physical and digital infrastructure (the VoloPort and VoloIQ).

“Attracting NEOM And GLy as investors is a great success and highlights our pole position in the commercial certification race,” said Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke. “This is the key requirement to launching commercial operations and starting to generate revenue.”

Volocopter is 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). The company’s first commercial air taxi routes are expected to launch within the next two years in locations such as Singapore, Rome, Paris, and the NEOM region.

“Raising over USD 180 million despite the generally tense economic climate highlights Volocopter’s robust technology strategy and its ongoing progress toward achieving market readiness,” said Volocopter CCO Christian Bauer. “We appreciate the remarkable spirit of collaboration and the trust that our existing and new shareholders have placed in us as we forge ahead on our journey to bring the urban air mobility ecosystem to life.”

Signing a joint venture last December, Volocopter and NEOM seek to integrate the VoloCity air taxi and the VoloDrone into NEOM’s mobility systems. The joint venture will manage the region’s all-electric public flight routes for the first seven years following the launch.

“At Neom we strongly believe in the potential for urban air mobility to provide a new dimension to future integrated transport systems. Building on our successful collaboration with Volocopter, we are excited to strengthen our partnership and to make a strategic investment in the future of mobility,” said Florian Lennert, Head of Mobility of NEOM. “We believe Volocopter is the best partner to build an advanced air mobility ecosystem in Neom. We look forward to realising this exciting mission jointly with Volocopter and its global partners.”

GLy is backed by Volocopter partner Geely Holding. In their joint venture, the partners intend to bring UAM to China, which is anticipated to become one of the largest markets for electric air taxis.

“Volocopter’s vision encompasses industrial short- and medium-range commercial passenger applications to bring efficiency to the way we move around our cities,” said GLy Capital Co-CEO Hrvoje Krkalo. “I look forward to supporting their journey; a journey that promises to be exciting, safe, and scenic in equal measure.”

Read more about Volocopter:

• Volocopter Opens First VoloCity Exhibition: Air Taxis of the Future
• VoloConnect First Flight: Volocopter eVTOL Travels Further and Faster
• VoloIQ Aerospace Cloud Project: Volocopter and Microsoft Collaborate
• When Will We See Passenger Drones? Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter from Amsterdam Drone Week
• Volocopter Raises $170 Million in Series E Funding, Following $200 Million Last Year

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.