Wisk Aero, the starter developer of electric air taxi, received $ 450 million from Boeing during its new fundraising period and claims to be one of the most profitable companies in the field of advanced air transportation (AAM) in the world.
Wisk states in a statement that it is “one of the leaders in the private sector-supported AAM” and intends to compete with a range of startups such as Joby Aviation and Lilium, which have become public companies in recent months.
Founded in 2019 with a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, a flying taxi company backed by Google founder Larry Page, Wisk Aero plans to hire new employees with a recent budget, which will help them grow faster. They also plan to start the production process, which will eventually bring their air taxi business into operation within the next five years.
Ultimately, if all goes according to plan, they expect to be able to operate 14 million flights a year in about 20 major markets around the world.
Of course, before all of these programs, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other government regulators must provide the Wisk approvals required for the legal carriage of passengers. The FAA has not yet issued any licenses for these flying vehicles, and experts say it will take at least five years or more for regulators to confirm that the new aircraft is safe enough for passengers.
Electric air taxis are basically small helicopters that do not have noisy and polluting gas engines. In recent years, a large number of startups have emerged in this field, which in their prototypes and initial plans intend to transport passengers by electric aircraft over short distances within the city or region. Analysts, meanwhile, predict that the industry will reach $ 150 billion by 2035.
