• 30 Apr 2022 12:56 AM
• 0

Volocopter Finds Funding, Flies in France

Volocopter announced on March 4 that it had raised $170M in a Series E financing round led by Korean WP Investment. New investors like Honeywell and exiting investors like Atlantia, among other investors, are also participating in the round, which has brought the total funds raised by the German eVTOL developer to $579M and its valuation to $1.7B. In a press release, Volocopter said that the funding will assist with the certification of Volocopter’s eVTOL aircraft. According to TechCrunch, other investors may join the Series E round, the target for which Volocopter has reportedly set at between $330M and $550M. 

Volocopter announced on March 24 that it has conducted the first crewed eVTOL flight in France (not including the Aquinea Volta electric helicopter that flew extensively in 2016). In the demonstration (shown), which occurred on March 21, a Volocopter 2X full-scale prototype conducted a test at Pontoise–Cormeilles Aerodrome on the outskirts of Paris to measure noise emissions, data from which will be used to inform future AAM services around the city. Volocopter had previously conducted uncrewed flights of its eVTOL aircraft at the Paris Air Forum in June 2021. The German eVTOL developer is aiming to provide AAM services for the Paris 2024 Olympics.