Joby Aviation

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Joby Aviation
TypePublic
NYSE: JOBY[1]
IndustryAerospace
Headquarters
Santa Cruz, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Founder/CEO: JoeBen Bevirt[2](Gorillapod creator)
Executive Chairman: Paul Sciarra (Pinterest co-founder)[3]
ProductsElectric aircraft
Number of employees
700+ (Feb 2021) [4]
Websitewww.jobyaviation.com

Joby Aviation is a Californian venture-backed aerospace company, developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that it intends to operate as an air taxi service.[5] Joby Aviation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, and has disclosed offices in San Carlos, California; Marina, California; and Munich, Germany.[6]

Company history[]

Joby Aviation was founded on 11 September, 2009 (called Joby Aero) as one of several projects incubated by JoeBen Bevirt on his ranch in the Santa Cruz mountains, using the proceeds from successful exits of previous companies.[7][6] According to the company's website, the early years were spent exploring different components of electric aviation, including electric motors, flight software, and lithium-ion batteries.[8] This research led Joby to participate in the NASA LEAPTech and X-57 Maxwell projects, before developing its own air taxi concept.[8] Joby's early concept, publicly called the S2, had eight tilting propellers arrayed along the leading edge of its wing and four more tilting propellers mounted on its V-shaped tail.[9] Later, the company moved to a configuration that features six rotating propellers.

By 2015, the company was operating subscale prototypes of its eVTOL aircraft, moving to full-scale unmanned prototypes in 2017, and a production prototype in 2019. In 2018, the company announced a Series B funding round of $100 million, led by Toyota AI Ventures. By 2019, the company was in active conversations with the FAA about certifying the aircraft and announced a partnership with Uber's Elevate division.[10]

Joby has mostly operated in stealth mode, in some cases leading to skepticism of the company's claims.[11] The first journalist granted access to the aircraft in 2018 agreed not to disclose details about the aircraft.[12] In 2020, however, the company began releasing significantly more information, starting with its January announcement of a $590 million funding round, led by Toyota Motor Corporation.[13] At that announcement, the company revealed its production vehicle.[14] In January, 2020, Bevirt was a keynote speaker at the meeting of the Vertical Flight Society.[15] Late in 2020, Joby Aviation acquired Uber Elevate,[16] and the U.S. Air Force announced it had granted Joby its first eVTOL airworthiness certification as part of its Agility Prime program.[17]

In February 2021, the company announced a partnership with Garmin to provide flight deck equipment[18] and announced that it had agreed a 'G-1' certification basis for its aircraft with the FAA.[19] In May, 2021, a NOVA episode featured Joby.[20][21]

In August 2021 the company announced a 155-mi. flight on a single charge in 77 minutes, comparative noise tests against other aircraft and its application for air Part 135 and Part 23 carrier certifications. The battery used 811 NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide) cathode and a graphite anode.[22] On August 11, the company went public using a special purpose acquisition company.[23]

Financing[]

The company was originally self-financed by Bevirt, after the sale of his previous companies, Velocity11 and GorillaPod. On February 1, 2018, Joby Aviation announced it raised $100 million in a Series B round of funding, including from Intel Capital, Toyota AI Ventures, Jet Blue Technology Ventures, and Tesla/SpaceX-backer Capricorn Investment Group. On January 15, 2020, Joby Aviation announced a Series C round of funding, totaling $590 million, led by Toyota Motor Corporation and a manufacturing partnership with Toyota. In December 2020, Joby Aviation acquired Elevate, Uber's air taxi division, and also received a $75 million investment from Uber, bringing Joby Aviation's total funds raised to $820 million.[24][25]

In January 2021, it was reported that Joby Aviation was exploring a special-purpose acquisition company (also known as "blank check corporation") to become a public company.[26] In February 2021, the company entered into a business combination agreement with Reinvent Technology Partners, a SPAC funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Mark Pincus. Shares in the SPAC, incorporated October 2020 in the Cayman Islands in 2020, were traded on the New York Stock Exchange as the symbol RTP.[27][28] Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Joby Aviation, and become publicly traded, with its common stock to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as the symbol JOBY.[29][1]

Technology and service[]

Schematic illustrations of a top view of the aircraft in a hover configuration, from a Joby patent corresponding to the production prototype configuration

The Joby aircraft is intended to be a four-passenger commercial aircraft with a pilot, capable of traveling up to 150 mi (240 km) on a single charge at a top speed of 200 mph (320 km/h).[30] Near silent in flight,[31] the aircraft is designed to be 100 times quieter during takeoff and landing than a helicopter. Joby plans to mass-produce its aircraft, with a plan to operate a piloted on-demand air-taxi service.[3] The aircraft will be electrically-powered and operate with zero emissions. The aircraft will be operated as a service with per-trip passenger pricing.[32]

Joby described the Uber Elevate acquisition as a way to accelerate its commercial launch through Elevate's tools and personnel. Elevate had previously operated a service called Uber Copter, which allowed all Uber users in the New York area to book a trip to John F. Kennedy International Airport, with a car taking riders to a heliport and a helicopter then took riders to the airport.[33] While the service used Bell 430 helicopters with Uber branding, the aircraft were operated by a separate helicopter company, Heliflite.[34] Joby Aviation cited Elevate's software tools enabling market selection, demand simulation and multi-modal operations as the reasons to purchase Elevate, suggesting the acquisition may play a significant role in Joby's commercial service.[35] Joby has not commented on whether it will continue Elevate's plans to launch in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Melbourne.

In January 2020, Joby announced plans to manufacture the aircraft in Marina, California at the Marina Municipal Airport. The plans include an initial 55,000 square foot production facility, followed by a 500,000 square foot factory.[36] The City and FAA approved the plan in June 2021.[37]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Joby Aviation Announces Closing of Business Combination with Reinvent Technology Partners to Become Publicly Traded Company" (Press release). Joby Aviation. 2021-08-10.
  2. ^ "Joby Aviation LLC: company profile". Bloomberg.
  3. ^ a b "Air-Taxi Startup Has a Working Prototype and a Fresh $100 Million". Bloomberg. 1 Feb 2018.
  4. ^ "Joby Aviation | Joby". www.jobyaviation.com. Retrieved Aug 3, 2021.
  5. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy. "With Toyota's Help, This Secretive Entrepreneur May Finally Give Us Flying Cars". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  6. ^ a b "Proxy Statement Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) Reinvent Technology Partners". Prospectus. US Securities and Exchange Commission. July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy. "With Toyota's Help, This Secretive Entrepreneur May Finally Give Us Flying Cars". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  8. ^ a b "Our Story | Joby". Joby Aviation Company website. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Whittle, Richard (2016-07-30). "In 15 years, we could be flying in silent planes that emit zero fumes". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  10. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (2019-12-20). "Uber's plan to launch an air taxi service in 2023 just got a boost from a secretive startup". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  11. ^ "Joby Unveils eVTOL Design Details And Certification Plans". aviationweek.com. Aviation Week Network. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  12. ^ "Air-Taxi Startup Has a Working Prototype and a Fresh $100 Million". Bloomberg.com. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  13. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (2020-01-15). "Toyota makes a big bet on secretive flying taxi startup Joby Aviation". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  14. ^ says, Ahmed. "Joby Aviation reveals S4 and $590 million in new funding". evtol.com. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  15. ^ Kenneth I. Swartz and Mike Hirschberg (March 5, 2020). "The First Electric VTOL Unicorn: Joby Aviation". Vertiflite. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Kumar, Tina Bellon, Uday Sampath (2020-12-09). "Joby Aviation takes over Uber's air taxi business, Elevate". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  17. ^ "First Military eVTOL Airworthiness Awarded to Joby Aviation". Aviation Today. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  18. ^ "Garmin G3000 integrated flight deck selected by Joby Aviation for revolutionary eVTOL aircraft". Garmin Newsroom. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  19. ^ "Joby Aviation established certification basis with FAA last year, company reveals". evtol.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  20. ^ Jennifer Robinson (May 25, 2021). "Great Electric Airplane Race". KPBS. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  21. ^ Miles O'Brien (May 26, 2021). "NOVA: Great Electric Airplane Race". PBS. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  22. ^ Norris, Guy (August 6, 2021). "Joby Hits Range, Noise Targets On Road To Certification". aviationweek.com. Aviation Week Network. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  23. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy. "Electric Air Taxi Maker Joby Goes Public, Offering Investors Sky-High Potential—And Risk". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  24. ^ Kumar, Tina Bellon, Uday Sampath (2020-12-09). "Joby Aviation takes over Uber's air taxi business, Elevate". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  25. ^ "Joby Aviation Welcomes New $75M Investment from Uber as it Acquires Uber Elevate and Expands Partnership | Joby". www.jobyaviation.com. Retrieved Aug 3, 2021.
  26. ^ Sen, Joshua Franklin, Anirban (2021-01-21). "Exclusive: Air taxi start-up Joby explores deal to go public - sources". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  27. ^ NYSE: RTP
  28. ^ "Reinvent Technology Partners X". Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 Registration Statement. US Securities and Exchange Commission. May 26, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  29. ^ "Joby Aviation to List on NYSE Through Merger With Reinvent Technology Partners". www.businesswire.com. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  30. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy. "With Toyota's Help, This Secretive Entrepreneur May Finally Give Us Flying Cars". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  31. ^ "Joby Unveils eVTOL Design Details And Certification Plans | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  32. ^ "Reinvent & Joby Investment Memo". Filing for 425: Prospectuses and communications, business combinations. US Securities and Exchange Commission. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  33. ^ Vora, Shivani (2019-06-05). "Uber Copter to Offer Flights From Lower Manhattan to J.F.K. (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  34. ^ Samantha Murphy Kelly (2019-10-04). "Uber's new helicopter service is an expensive, time-consuming adventure". CNN Digital. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  35. ^ "9. Getting Focused: Tools and Approaches", The Talent Revolution, University of Toronto Press, pp. 161–163, 2019-12-31, ISBN 978-1-4875-1189-0, retrieved 2021-01-23
  36. ^ Shalev, Asaf (January 16, 2020). "Joby Aviation plans to build a massive factory for flying cars in Marina". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  37. ^ "Final Environmental Assessment: Proposed Joby Aviation Manufacturing Facility at Marina Municipal Airport". City of Marina, California. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

External links[]

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