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BRUCHSAL, Germany, March 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 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
