Joby Aviation is an American venture-backed aerospace company that developed an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to operate as an air taxi service provider. Powered by six electric motors, their aircraft takes off and lands vertically, giving the flexibility to serve almost any community. These aircraft could transform hours on the road into minutes in the sky by flying passengers direct to their destination at up to 200mph.
In January, Joby Aviation provided a presentation to ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission on Urban Air Mobility: The Path to Market. Greg Bowles, Head of Government Affairs; Mr. Bill Goodwin, Deputy General Counsel-Policy and Regulatory; Mr. Max Fenkell, Policy and Government Affairs Lead; Mr. John Illson, Commercial Operations and Certification Lead were present, along with Mr. Mitch Fox, representative of the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA) to ICAO. The session was moderated by Mr. Nabil Naoumi, the President of the Air Navigation Commission.
The Joby Aviation startup was founded in 2009, with offices in Santa Cruz, California, San Carlos, California, Marina, California, and Munich, Germany. Joby worked on the NASA LEAPTech and X-57 Maxwell projects before developing its air taxi concept.
Since 2009, Joby has been actively developing a four-passenger commercial aircraft with a pilot, capable of traveling up to 240 km on a single charge at a top speed of 320 km/h. Near silent in flight, 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 an on-demand service, initially using a pilot, and eventually becoming unmanned aircraft.
In 2018, Joby Aviation announced that substantial funds had been raised from venture capital that included Intel Capital, Toyota AI Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Tesla/SpaceX backer Capricorn Investment Group.
In 2020, Joby Aviation announced additional venture funding and a partnership with Toyota. It plans to use the fund to develop a large flying-car factory in California. In 2020, Joby Aviation acquired Elevate, Uber’s air taxi division together with a substantial amount of investment from Uber.
The ANC Talks interview, with the representatives from Joby, can be accessed here.
