JetZero Tops $1 Billion in Funding for Z4 ‘All-wing’ Airliner

JetZero has raised another $175 million for development of its Z4 blended-wing-body airliner, bringing total funding to more than $1 billion, the Long Beach, California-based start-up announced on January 13.

Global investment firm B Capital led the recent Series B financing round. Other contributors include United Airlines Ventures, Northrop Grumman, 3M Ventures, Trucks VC, and RTX Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of RTX. 

United Airlines, a longtime JetZero investor, has already agreed to purchase up to 200 Z4 airliners, which seat up to 250 passengers and can fly up to 5,000 nm. Alaska Airlines previously made an undisclosed investment in JetZero, and the start-up also has a partnership with Delta Air Lines. 

“The strength and diversity of our investor base reflects the momentum behind JetZero and the industry’s readiness to reshape the future of aviation,” said JetZero co-founder and CEO Tom O’Leary. “This round brings together key strategic partners across the value chain from demand to supply to implementation,” he said.

According to JetZero, the Z4 will deliver 30% to 50% more fuel efficiency than comparable airplanes in service today and could offer a future replacement for some of Boeing’s larger 737 variants and out-of-production 757 and 767 models, as well as Airbus’s A320 family, particularly the A321neo.

“JetZero is redefining aviation with its all-wing aircraft, setting a new benchmark for efficiency, cost, and the passenger experience,” said Jeff Johnson, a partner at B Capital. “As aviation faces rising emissions and fuel costs, the need for a step change in efficiency has never been greater. JetZero is positioned to reshape the industry, and we’re proud to partner with the team as they advance this groundbreaking technology.”

This latest financing round will fund JetZero’s development of a full-scale technology demonstrator that the company intends to start flight-testing in 2027. It completed the critical design review last May. 

The demonstrator aircraft will feature a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW2040 high-bypass turbofan engines, but JetZero has not yet named an engine supplier for the production model. Collins Aerospace, a Pratt & Whitney sister company under RTX, is providing the engine nacelles for the demonstrator. 

According to JetZero, the Z4 is on track to enter commercial service in the 2030s.