EVTOL startup Joby Aviation is going public with a $6.6 billion valuation and plans to start passenger flights in 2024 - here's what we know about the company

Thomas PalliniMar 4, 2021, 22:44 IST

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design.Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation is a leader in electric aviation and just announced plans to go public.
Its four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and land aircraft is slated to earn certification in 2023.
A planned merger with a Reid Hoffman-backed SPAC values the company at $6.6 billion.

Joby Aviation is among the most promising startups in the electric aviation field, boasting plans for zero-emission intra-city transportation with a fleet of four-seat electric vertical takeoff and land aircraft.

Valuable partnerships with Uber and Toyota gave the firm steady funding in recent years and solidified its reputation in the field. Industry consultants and venture capitalists all gave the 11-year-old company a vote of confidence when asked to name the best electric aviation startups by Insider in January.

Joby most recently secured a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that will bring the company public. The deal values the company at $6.6 billion and provides $910 million in private investment in public equity funding from the likes of Uber Technologies and BlackRock.

Electric aviation is an industry with no shortage of competitors as startups work to unlock the secret behind electric urban air mobility. One of its main rivals, Archer Aviation, just inked a deal with United Airlines for $1 billion in orders, for example.

And time is quickly coming for these aircraft to become a reality as Joby expects to launch commercial operations in 2024.

Here's what we know about Joby Aviation.

Joby was founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California with just seven employees and by 2012, the company was already working with NASA on projects to advance electric flight.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. T. Schneider/Shutterstock.com

Joby was founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California with just seven employees and by 2012, the company was already working with NASA on projects to advance electric flight.

Its flagship product is an eVTOL that promises to fly four passengers up to 150 miles. Joby says the top cruising speed will be 200 miles per hour and the aircraft can fly up to 15,000 feet above sea level.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

Its flagship product is an eVTOL that promises to fly four passengers up to 150 miles. Joby says the top cruising speed will be 200 miles per hour and the aircraft can fly up to 15,000 feet above sea level.

An example given by the company is that a 44-mile flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newport Beach, California will only take 15 minutes.

Newport Beach, California. Beach Media/Shutterstock

Unlike some competitors, the aircraft will be piloted and not flown autonomously or via a remote pilot. Inside the aircraft's cockpit will be the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.

The Garmin G3000 avionics suite. Garmin

Unlike some competitors, the aircraft will be piloted and not flown autonomously or via a remote pilot. Inside the aircraft's cockpit will be the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.

The glass cockpit will be similar to those found on modern conventional aircraft, offering pilots high-definition displays that provide flight data.

The Garmin G3000 avionics suite. Garmin

Pilots can view navigation charts and navigate around bad weather using the system.

The Garmin G3000 avionics suite. Garmin

Joby's first sub-scale prototype flew in 2015, just six years after the startup was founded.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

Three years later, the process to certify its aircraft began with the Federal Aviation Administration. Joby is on track to receive certification in 2023 and start commercial operations the following year.

The Department of Transportation building in Washington, DC. ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty

Three years later, the process to certify its aircraft began with the Federal Aviation Administration. Joby is on track to receive certification in 2023 and start commercial operations the following year.

The US Air Force has already given Joby an eVTOL airworthiness certificate, the first of its kind, under the Agility Prime program.

The Pentagon. Getty

Joby boasts numerous high-profile investors, including Toyota. The automotive giant became a lead investor in Joby's Series C financing with a $394 million investment.

Toyota logos are seen at City Toyota in Daly City, California Thomson Reuters

Toyota also pledged to share its manufacturing know-how with Joby as part of the deal.

Employees work at an assembly line at the Toyota manufacturing plant in Sakarya Thomson Reuters

Uber also invested $50 million in a previously-undisclosed January 2020 deal.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Uber

Joby then acquired Uber Elevate in December as the ride-hailing giant had been forced to shed divisions during the pandemic. But Uber stayed on as an investor to the tune of an additional $75 million.

Uber Copter. MIKE SEGAR/Reuters

Joby then acquired Uber Elevate in December as the ride-hailing giant had been forced to shed divisions during the pandemic. But Uber stayed on as an investor to the tune of an additional $75 million.

The duo also pledged to work together and integrate each other's services in their mobile applications once Joby is up and running. Joby acquired Uber Elevate's engineers and technology staff as part of the deal.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

The duo also pledged to work together and integrate each other's services in their mobile applications once Joby is up and running. Joby acquired Uber Elevate's engineers and technology staff as part of the deal.

Joby aims to go public by merging with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that values the company at $6.6 billion.

A general view of a ticker system board at the New York Stock Exchange Joe Corrigan/Getty Images

That also includes $910 million in private investment in public equity, or PIPE funding, from the likes of Uber Technologies, BlackRock, and Fidelity Management & Research.

BlackRock. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

That also includes $910 million in private investment in public equity, or PIPE funding, from the likes of Uber Technologies, BlackRock, and Fidelity Management & Research.

"I think of Joby as Tesla meets Uber in the air," Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder and Reinvest Technology Partners backer, told Reuters.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

For those looking to score a job at Joby, most engineering jobs come with six-figure salaries, according to an Insider analysis.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

Joby is striving for eVTOL flights accessible to all and not just the wealthy. "We're trying to price this accessibility in a way that everyone can use it several times a week," Greg Bowles, Joby's head of government affairs, said at a January 2020 mobility forum.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

Joby is striving for eVTOL flights accessible to all and not just the wealthy. "We're trying to price this accessibility in a way that everyone can use it several times a week," Greg Bowles, Joby's head of government affairs, said at a January 2020 mobility forum.

Bowles also envisions inter-city transport for the price of an Uber Black car, he said while speaking at the forum. "You might say 'We should have dinner in Baltimore tonight, it's a 30-minute flight and it's going to cost us similarly to Uber black, should we go?'"

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

Bowles also envisions inter-city transport for the price of an Uber Black car, he said while speaking at the forum. "You might say 'We should have dinner in Baltimore tonight, it's a 30-minute flight and it's going to cost us similarly to Uber black, should we go?'"

Joby says it's flown more than 1,000 test flights and plans to start construction on a scaled manufacturing facility in 2021.

Joby Aviation's eVTOL design. Joby Aviation

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EVTOL startup Joby Aviation is going public with a $6.6 billion valuation and plans to start passenger flights in 2024 - here's what we know about the company

Joby was founded in 2009 in Santa Cruz, California with just seven employees and by 2012, the company was already working with NASA on projects to advance electric flight.

Its flagship product is an eVTOL that promises to fly four passengers up to 150 miles. Joby says the top cruising speed will be 200 miles per hour and the aircraft can fly up to 15,000 feet above sea level.

An example given by the company is that a 44-mile flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newport Beach, California will only take 15 minutes.

Unlike some competitors, the aircraft will be piloted and not flown autonomously or via a remote pilot. Inside the aircraft's cockpit will be the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.

The glass cockpit will be similar to those found on modern conventional aircraft, offering pilots high-definition displays that provide flight data.

Pilots can view navigation charts and navigate around bad weather using the system.

Joby's first sub-scale prototype flew in 2015, just six years after the startup was founded.

Three years later, the process to certify its aircraft began with the Federal Aviation Administration. Joby is on track to receive certification in 2023 and start commercial operations the following year.

The US Air Force has already given Joby an eVTOL airworthiness certificate, the first of its kind, under the Agility Prime program.

Joby boasts numerous high-profile investors, including Toyota. The automotive giant became a lead investor in Joby's Series C financing with a $394 million investment.

Toyota also pledged to share its manufacturing know-how with Joby as part of the deal.

Uber also invested $50 million in a previously-undisclosed January 2020 deal.

Joby then acquired Uber Elevate in December as the ride-hailing giant had been forced to shed divisions during the pandemic. But Uber stayed on as an investor to the tune of an additional $75 million.

The duo also pledged to work together and integrate each other's services in their mobile applications once Joby is up and running. Joby acquired Uber Elevate's engineers and technology staff as part of the deal.

Joby aims to go public by merging with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that values the company at $6.6 billion.

That also includes $910 million in private investment in public equity, or PIPE funding, from the likes of Uber Technologies, BlackRock, and Fidelity Management & Research.

"I think of Joby as Tesla meets Uber in the air," Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder and Reinvest Technology Partners backer, told Reuters.

For those looking to score a job at Joby, most engineering jobs come with six-figure salaries, according to an Insider analysis.

Joby is striving for eVTOL flights accessible to all and not just the wealthy. "We're trying to price this accessibility in a way that everyone can use it several times a week," Greg Bowles, Joby's head of government affairs, said at a January 2020 mobility forum.

Bowles also envisions inter-city transport for the price of an Uber Black car, he said while speaking at the forum. "You might say 'We should have dinner in Baltimore tonight, it's a 30-minute flight and it's going to cost us similarly to Uber black, should we go?'"

Joby says it's flown more than 1,000 test flights and plans to start construction on a scaled manufacturing facility in 2021.