Both on the ground and in the air, autonomous taxis remain an enticing prospect for financial investment.
Two autonomous-vehicle companies revealed substantial funding last week, with Toyota-backed May Mobility raising $83 million in a series C round that keeps the startup on pace to begin “driver-out” operations in 2023.
It will take a little longer for Wisk to launch autonomous flights, but the air taxi startup took a significant step toward that goal last week, securing $450 million in funding from Boeing.
The electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, startup, in which both Boeing and Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk own stakes, said further, undisclosed funds were raised.
While May Mobility ostensibly has competitors in the passenger-carrying robotaxi realm, Wisk remains unlike many of its eVTOL competitors. Joby Aviation (also backed by Toyota), Lilium and Archer Aviation and Mercedes-Benz-backed Volocopter, for example, are all developing aircraft intended to be operated by human pilots.
Some of those competitors expect to begin flights as early as 2024, but for Wisk, commercial service that’s at least five years away will be worth the wait.
