Wisk, a developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air-taxi in the U.S., has raised $450 million in funding from The Boeing Company. Founded in 2010, Wisk is a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk Corporation, which was co-founded by Sebastian Thrun and Google co-founder Larry Page.

With this fresh funding, Wisk becomes one of the most well-funded AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) companies in the world. Wisk has previously secured undisclosed funding rounds, which were also led by The Boeing Company.

"This investment will further advance the development of Wisk’s 6th generation eVTOL aircraft, a first-ever candidate for certification of an autonomous, all-electric, passenger-carrying aircraft in the U.S. ", said an announcement release by Wisk.


California-based Wisk is one of the dozens of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) makers however it differs in focusing its efforts on autonomous flight. Wisk intends to operate one of the industry’s largest fleets of AAM eVTOL aircraft. The eVTOL startup aiming to close to 14M annual flights bringing time savings to over 40 million people across 20 cities in the U.S. 

Wisk's eVTOL aircraft will not require a runway and allows to land where its passenger need to be. The company uses self-flying software combined with human oversight, aiming to shape the future of accessible, everyday flight.

In 2017, Wisk claimed to became the first company in the U.S. to successfully fly an autonomous, eVTOL aircraft designed for passenger use. Then in May 2021, Wisk signed its first deal to operate air taxis in the US.

In September last year, space agency NASA began flight-testing with Joby Aviation, which is also an eVTOL startup backed by Uber. Wisk too has partnered with NASA for Urban Air Mobility solutions in the U.S. 

Last year in March, Germany-based Volocopter, also an electric eVTOL startup, raised €200 million in its Series D funding round.


Wisk is a leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the U.S. With more than 140 patents issued on its name, Wisk has designed, developed, and tested five generations of aircraft and is currently developing its 6th generation autonomous eVTOL aircraft.

Marc Allen, Chief Strategy Officer of Boeing said, "With this investment, we are reconfirming our belief in Wisk’s business and the importance of their work in pioneering all-electric, AI-driven, autonomous capability for the aerospace industry. Autonomy is the key to unlocking scale across all AAM applications, from passenger to cargo and beyond. That’s why straight-to-autonomy is a core first principle. Boeing and Wisk have been at the forefront of AAM innovation for more than a decade, and will continue to lead in the years ahead."
Advertisements

Post a Comment

Comment

أحدث أقدم