Will Intel-backed startup turn Uber of the skies?
berlin — Forget autonomous cars — your next taxi might whiz you across town through the air.
Volocopter GmbH, a German startup backed by Intel and Daimler, has built a drone-like electric helicopter to ferry travellers across city skies. The company expects to offer its first commercial trips in the next three to five years, after completing test flights in Dubai and Las Vegas. It’s now seeking at least $100 million to gear up manufacturing of the flying taxis.
Volocopter is in talks with new and current investors to raise the funds “as soon as possible,” CEO Florian Reuter said. “We want to be the world’s first commercial air taxi service.”
Raising money is just one facet of the race to conquer local skies. Multiple aviation and technology companies, from planemaker Boeing to a startup backed by Larry Page, are working on aircraft that could be used as robotic taxis, capable of landing on urban
We want to be the world’s first commercial air taxi service Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH
rooftops or special pods to pick up passengers who want to avoid traffic. Another hurdle is convincing regulators it’s a good idea to have these machines travelling over populated areas.
Volocopter says it’s furthest along with the technology and working with regulators — it already has a provisional licence from German aviation authorities and has completed an autonomous flight in Dubai.
A Volocopter looks like a drone on steroids. It’s a sleek machine with 18 rotors and two seats — either for a pilot and a passenger, or for two travellers in remote-controlled or autonomous flight mode. The company claims the drones are so quiet that you can’t hear them over city noise from 100 metres away. — Bloomberg