Archer Aviation Raises $430 Million for Flying Taxis: Startup Funding Roundup

Travel Startup Funding This Week

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at [email protected] if you have funding news.

Flying taxi startups have been raising a lot of money this year.

Archer Aviation is on the list this week for another $430 million, making its total $660 million this year. The company's latest fundraise was the second-largest this year for an electric aircraft startup. The largest was $500 million for Joby Aviation in October.

Meanwhile, competitor Lilium is in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings after burning through $1 billion — an unfortunate example of how capital intensive it is to get a new aircraft into the sky.

In total, eight travel startups raised over $570 million in funding over the past two weeks.

Archer Aviation, which is developing a flying taxi for urban use, has raised $430 million. 

Investors included Stellantis, United Airlines, Wellington Management, and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero, a subsidiary of UAE’S largest public company, IHC.

The company says it has now raised nearly $2 billion, including $230 million earlier this year. 

California-based Archer is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft called Midnight. It is designed to hold a pilot with four passengers and luggage for urban trips of 20-50 miles at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. It is powered by six independent battery packs, each supporting a pair of electric engines, the company said.

The company has now completed more than 400 test flights. 

Archer said it now has manufacturing contracts worth over $6 billion. That includes a recent purchasing agreement for up to 100 aircrafts from Soracle — owned by Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corpo