Airo Group is stepping up its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) that would provide further funding for subsidiary companies including Aspen Avionics and eVTOL aircraft developers Jaunt Air Mobility. On August 15, the U.S. company announced that it has filed an S-1 draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Airo Group said it has yet to determine how many shares it will offer and an anticipated price range for the equity. The timing of the IPO is subject to an SEC review process, as well as market and other conditions.
Jaunt, which is developing a four-passenger eVTOL aircraft called Journey that it expects to start delivering in 2026, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Airo in March 2022. In April, Jaunt secured a pair of new investors in its program, with former Air Canada president Calin Rovinescu and technology investor Mitch Gerber joining its group of advisors.
In late July, Jaunt announced that it intends to establish a final assembly line for its Journey eVTOL air taxis in India before the end of the 2020s to serve the South Asian market. The move is based on its earlier partnership with the country’s L&T Technology Services group. Jaunt aims to certify the aircraft in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and will build early examples of the type in North America, with an initial list price of $1.5 million.
Airo was founded by Delhi-born Indian-American entrepreneur Chirinjeev Kathuria. On July 26, the group announced that it had completed the merger of six aerospace companies, spanning involvement in the air mobility, drones, avionics, and training sectors.
In addition to Aspen Avionics, which is an established supplier of flight deck systems in the general and business aviation sectors, Airo is also earning revenues from its pilot training and drone operations. The training subsidiary is involved in activities including close air support, intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance, and air adversary exercises.
