Toyota Pours $394 Million Into Joby Aviation in Massive Air Taxi Funding Round

Air taxi startup Joby Aviation has closed a Series C funding round worth $590 million, one of the largest ever in the eVTOL sector. The round was led by Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation, which contributed $394 million and will share expertise in manufacturing, quality control and cost management.

Toyota enters the air taxi space with a record-setting investment

The round Joby Aviation closed places it among the best-funded companies in the electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft sector. Toyota's involvement, a traditional automaker with decades of mass-production experience, marks a notable departure from the usual investor profile in this field, which until now has been dominated mainly by venture capital funds and aerospace-focused investment firms.

• Total round size: $590 million
• Toyota's investment: $394 million
• Round type: Series C
• Closing date: January 2020

Who else joined the round?

Alongside Toyota, which led the raise by a wide margin, several other firms known for investments in technology and aviation also took part. The list includes Toyota's own investment arm, signaling the Japanese company's dual commitment to the project.

• SPARX Group
• Intel Capital
• Capricorn Investment Group
• JetBlue Technology Ventures
• 8VC
• Toyota AI Ventures
• AME Cloud Ventures

An aircraft that combines a helicopter and a fixed-wing plane?

Joby's aircraft is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers, taking off and landing vertically like a helicopter before transitioning to efficient fixed-wing flight. This combination is meant to enable short urban and regional flights without the need for a long runway, while aiming to keep energy consumption low compared to a conventional helicopter.

What does Toyota bring to the table beyond money?

Toyota's official statement speaks of sharing expertise in manufacturing, quality control and cost management, not just cash. This is precisely the kind of gap eVTOL startups tend to run into: designing an impressive prototype is one thing, but manufacturing thousands of units at reasonable operating cost and with consistent quality is an entirely different challenge, one that requires industrial experience most small aviation companies simply haven't accumulated.

The open question concerns regulation. No aviation authority in the world, including the American FAA, has yet approved regular commercial operation of an autonomous or piloted eVTOL aircraft for carrying passengers in cities. A large funding round advances engineering development, but it doesn't guarantee a fast regulatory path, and companies in this space are still in flight-testing stages rather than actual commercial operation.

What does this say about the broader investment trend?

The entry of an automaker the size of Toyota into an air taxi funding round may signal a shift in the identity of investors in this market. Until now, the sector has been financed mainly by venture capital and dedicated aerospace investment firms. The involvement of a global automaker with mass-production experience suggests that major industrial players are beginning to see air taxis as a business opportunity rather than just an experimental project.