Financing led by Intel Capital with strategic
investors EDBI, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Toyota AI
Ventures
Joby Aviation announced it has secured $100M in Series B
financing to take its all-electric vertical take-off and landing
(eVTOL) passenger aircraft into pre-production and certification.
The financing was led by Intel Capital, and includes strategic
investors Singapore-based EDBI, JetBlue Technology Ventures®, and
Toyota AI Ventures. Also participating are new investors Allen
& Company, AME Cloud Ventures, and Ron Conway, as well as
existing investors Capricorn Investment Group, 8VC, Sky Dayton and
Paul Sciarra. With its previously-unannounced Series A financing
led by Capricorn in 2016, this brings the company’s total funding
to over $130 million.
As technological and material advancements usher in a
transformation of the $10T transportation industry, Joby Aviation
is leading eVTOL innovation and has designed, built and
flight-tested a fully-electric, vertical take-off and landing
passenger aircraft that is optimized for local and regional
air-transportation-as-a-service. Joby Aviation’s 5-seat vehicle
will be faster than existing rotorcraft, fly at least 150 miles on
a charge, and be 100 times quieter than conventional aircraft
during takeoff and landing, and near-silent in flyover.
Joby Aviation is focused on building a new transportation
solution that rises above the constraints of ground infrastructure
to offer a safe, sustainable, and much faster means of getting from
point A to point B. The company aims to solve the problem of city
congestion and long commute times.
“People waste billions of hours sitting on roads worldwide each
year. We envision a future where commuting by eVTOL is a safer,
faster, and cost-competitive alternative to ground transportation,”
said Joby Aviation founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “We have spent
the last ten years developing the technologies that have made our
full-scale technical demonstrator possible and are now ready to
build a commercial version of the aircraft. We’re excited to have
attracted the backing of leaders in auto manufacturing, data
intelligence, and transportation sectors.”
In addition to focusing on product development and flight
certification, the company plans to expand its team—including
experts in structural engineering, electrical engineering, power
electronics, battery electrochemistry, certification, flight
controls, and software.
“Intel believes the future of transportation is data-driven –
whether you’re talking about autonomous cars or next-generation air
travel,” said Wendell Brooks, president, Intel Capital. “Joby
Aviation has been laser-focused on delivering a unique vehicle into
the market. This is a truly disruptive technology with the
potential to push the geographic boundaries of where people can
live and work.”
“For over a decade, Capricorn has been investing in companies
tackling tough, high-impact challenges,” said Dipender Saluja,
managing partner of the Technology Impact Fund, Capricorn
Investment Group. “Some of these companies have gone on to become
global leaders in electric ground transportation, space and earth
imaging. We were excited to lead the Series A financing of Joby in
2016, and look forward to continuing our work with them in this new
stage of their vehicle development program.”
“Joby Aviation’s advanced leadership in the eVTOL industry will
significantly alleviate transportation challenges on the ground,
and enable rapid and reliable commuting between and within cities,”
said Ms. Swee Yeok CHU, CEO and president, EDBI. “We look forward
to Joby contributing to future urban aerial mobility.”
“At JetBlue Technology Ventures, we believe the regional
transportation ecosystem is ripe for disruption and startups like
Joby Aviation will revolutionize how people move across urban
areas,” said Bonny Simi, president, JetBlue Technology Ventures.
“We are excited about the transformative potential of eVTOLs and
believe Joby Aviation is the most advanced company in this emerging
sector. Its vehicle platform will be the standard to beat.”
“Toyota's mission is to improve human mobility,” said Jim Adler,
managing director, Toyota AI Ventures. “Joby Aviation's vision of
delivering safe, affordable and accessible
air-transportation-as-a-service fits squarely in our view of the
future of transportation: one that is highly networked and
increasingly automated.”
About Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation is an electric mobility company that is building a
fully-electric vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft
optimized to deliver air-transportation-as-a-service. The company’s
vehicle is a 5-seat aircraft that is faster than existing
rotorcraft, flies 150 miles on a charge, and will be 100 times
quieter than existing rotorcraft or small planes during takeoff and
landing and near-silent in flyover. Founded in 2009, the company
has offices in Santa Cruz and Redwood City, CA. To learn more,
visit jobyaviation.com.
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's strategic investment organization, funds
innovative startups targeting computing and smart devices, 5G
connectivity, cloud, datacenter, artificial intelligence, merged
reality, automated driving, the Internet of Things, robotic
technologies, immersive entertainment and semiconductor
manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested US$12.2
billion in 1,520 companies worldwide, and 665 portfolio companies
have gone public or been acquired. Through its business development
programs, Intel Capital curates thousands of introductions each
year between its portfolio executives and Intel's customers and
partners in the Global 2000. For more information on what makes
Intel Capital one of the world’s most powerful venture capital
firms, visit www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital.
About Capricorn Investment
Group
Capricorn Investment Group was born from a belief that
values-based, sustainable investment practices can enhance return
rates. Underlying that principled approach has always been a deep
desire to demonstrate the huge investment potential that resides in
breakthrough commercial solutions to the world’s most pressing
problems. Visit Capricorn on the web at www.capricornllc.com.
About EDBI
As a premier Asian investor, EDBI invests in knowledge and
innovation-intensive sectors covering Smart & Sustainable
Technology (SST), Information & Communication Technology (ICT),
Biomedical Sciences (BMS), and select industry clusters under its
Strategic Growth Programme (SGP). Under SST, EDBI seeks investment
opportunities in frontier technologies like Mobility,
Internet-of-Things, Robotics, Augmented/Virtual Reality and
Artificial Intelligence. Taking a long term investment outlook,
EDBI helps to grow companies in Asia and globally through
Singapore. To learn more, visit www.edbi.com.
About JetBlue Technology
Ventures
JetBlue Technology Ventures invests in, incubates and partners
with early stage startups at the intersection of technology, travel
and hospitality to improve the entire travel experience. The
company prioritizes investments that advance the customer-centric
journey; technology empowered customer service; the future of
operations and maintenance; revenue management, sales &
distribution; and new regional transport ecosystems. Founded in
2016, JetBlue Technology Ventures is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) and is located in Silicon Valley, Calif. For
more information, visit www.JetBlueVentures.com.
About Toyota AI Ventures
Toyota AI Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital
subsidiary of Toyota Research Institute (TRI) that invests in
promising startups from around the world. The fund focuses on
companies developing solutions in artificial intelligence (AI),
robotics, autonomous mobility, data, and cloud technology that
share TRI’s mission of improving the quality of human life through
AI. More information is available at Toyota-AI.ventures.
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Media Contacts:Joby
Aviationjoby@theoutcastagency.comorIntel CapitalPeter
Delevettpeter.delevett@intel.comorCapricorn Investment GroupHenry
McLoughlinhmcloughlin@capricornllc.comorEDBIStephanie
Tiustephanie_tiu@edbi.comorJetBlue Technology VenturesJennifer
RodstromJennifer@jetblueventures.comorToyota AI VenturesRick
Bourgoiserick.bourgoise@tri.global
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