London-based mobility company Skyports has raised $23 million to expand its electric air taxi infrastructure and drone operations.
Existing institutional shareholders including Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, Groupe ADP, Solar Ventus, Irelandia and Levitate Capital participated in the Series B round, in addition to Kanematsu Corporation, Goodman Group, and Italian airport platform 2i Aeroporti, among others.
Founded in 2017, Skyports aims to change the way people move around their communities and reduce congestion and pollution through electric aviation.
With the new capital, Skyports will accelerate its work with electric air taxi manufacturers and operators to provide take-off and landing infrastructure in key launch markets.
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It will also use the funds to scale its drone services operations, which are currently active in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.
Says Skyports CEO Duncan Walker: “This is another great milestone for Skyports as we continue our journey to be the leading vertiport owner and operator in the world. The support of our original investors who have deep experience in aviation and infrastructure and the addition of new capital from world class companies with a global footprint enables us to build the air taxi ecosystem alongside our best-in-class vehicle partners for initial operations within a couple of years.
“Our growing drone services business puts us ahead of the curve with technology development, regulation and operational experience whilst reducing carbon emissions by using drones for a broad range of customers.”
Earlier this month, Germany-based electric air service Volocopter raised $170 million in Series E funding to help certify and launch its electric passenger air taxi.
Last month, Air Asia announced a deal with Avolon to lease 100 eVTOL aircraft to provide "advanced air mobility" to passengers.