South Korea’s WP Investments, along with Honeywell and previous investor Atlantis, are the main backers for a $170 million funding round for eVTOL developer Volocopter. The Germany-based startup announced the fresh investment on Friday, reporting that it has now raised a total of $579 million.
The funds will support Volocopter’s efforts to bring the two-seat VoloCity vehicle to market, as well as to complete the development of its VoloDrone autonomous freighter and the larger VoloConnect passenger aircraft. They will also be used for work aimed at establishing the first air taxi services, likely starting around 2024, in several cities expected to include Singapore, Rome, and Paris.
Under the March 4 agreement, Seoul-based WP Investments will launch a joint venture with Volocopter to develop passenger flights in South Korea. New backer Honeywell Aerospace has been actively pursuing a leadership role in the advanced air mobility sector, providing technology to several aircraft developers, including propulsion systems, fly-by-wire controls, and cockpit displays.
According to Volocopter, the first commitments for its latest funding round give the company a pre-money valuation of $1.7 billion.
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