Joby Aviation raises $590 million to launch air taxi service

Joby Aviation, a pioneer in the development of an electric air taxi, has raised $590 million in Series C funding led by Toyota Motor Corp. Prior investors, including SPARX Group, Intel Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, and AME Cloud Ventures, also contributed to the round, and were joined by new investors Baillie Gifford and Global Oryx. Shigeki Tomoyama, the Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corp., will join Joby Aviation's board of directors. This new investment brings the company's total funding, including previous rounds, to $720 million.

Over the past 10 years, the company's team of engineers and physicists has developed a quiet, all-electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, which will be instrumental in the commercial launch of the emerging on-demand urban air taxi market. Toyota will share its expertise in manufacturing, quality, and cost controls to support the development and production of Joby Aviation's aircraft.

Joby Aviation's aircraft is a piloted, five-seat vehicle capable of both vertical takeoff and landing and highly efficient, wingborne forward flight. It is capable of speeds of 200 miles per hour and can fly over 150 miles on a single charge. The aircraft is 100 times quieter than conventional aircraft during takeoff and landing, and near-silent when flying overhead.