Volocopter has raised an additional $182 million in the second signing of its Series E funding round. Neom, the Saudi Arabian Red Sea's smart, cognitive region project, and Hong Kong-based GLy Capital Management have joined the OEM's diverse investor base. This will carry the company beyond the certification of its electric passenger aircraft, the VoloCity air taxi.

Sustainable mobility is a tremendous challenge facing today's world. Volocopter offers a suite of fully electric aircraft for urban missions. Crucially, its holistic UAM ecosystem approach connects all key global market players as it strives to get the industry off the ground. This includes developing multipurpose electric aircraft to bring passengers and goods safely to their destination (the VoloCity, VoloRegion and VoloDrone), and enabling the physical and digital infrastructure to match (the VoloPort and VoloIQ).

"Attracting Neom And GLy as investors is a great success and highlights our pole position in the commercial certification race. This is the key requirement to launching commercial operations and starting to generate revenue," says CEO Dirk Hoke.

Volocopter has over 10 years of experience and upward of 1,500 successful test flights. As the first and only eVTOL company to receive Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from EASA, it expects to launch its first commercial air taxi routes in the next two years in megacities like Singapore, Rome, Paris and the Neom region.

CCO Christian Bauer adds: "Raising over $180 million despite the generally tense economic climate highlights Volocopter's robust technology strategy and its ongoing progress toward achieving market readiness. We appreciate the remarkable spirit of collaboration and the trust that our existing and new shareholders have placed in us as we forge ahead on our journey to bring the urban air mobility ecosystem to life."

Volocopter and Neom signed a joint venture (JV) agreement in December 2021, becoming strategic partners to integrate the VoloCity and the VoloDrone into Neom's sustainable and smart mobility systems. The JV will design, integrate and operate all-electric public flight routes for the initial seven years. NEOM has placed a confirmed order of 10 passenger and five drone Volocopter aircraft to commence initial flight operations within the next two to three years.

"At Neom we strongly believe in the potential for urban air mobility to provide a new dimension to future integrated transport systems. Building on our successful collaboration with Volocopter, we are excited to strengthen our partnership and to make a strategic investment in the future of mobility. We believe Volocopter is the best partner to build an advanced air mobility ecosystem in Neom. We look forward to realising this exciting mission jointly with Volocopter and its global partners," says Neom head of mobility Florian Lennert.

GLy is backed by Geely Holding and in their joint venture Volocopter Chengdu, Geely and Volocopter aim to bring UAM to China, which is expected to become one of the largest markets for electric air taxis. The JV is to purchase 150 Volocopter aircraft and Geely Holding Group CEO Daniel Li Donghui has also joined Volocopter's advisory board. The OEM also signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Volocopter Chengdu and Geely Technology to produce the aircraft and parts in China.

"Volocopter's vision encompasses industrial short and medium range commercial passenger applications to bring efficiency to the way we move around our cities. I look forward to supporting its journey; a journey that promises to be exciting, safe and scenic in equal measure," says GLy Capital co-CEO Hrvoje Krkalo.

With many interested companies having passed the due diligence phase, Volocopter's Series E funding round remains open.