Aviation business has not ceased during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak: indeed a good news story comes from Lilium, the Munich-based aviation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft for regional air mobility. On 23 March, the company announced the completion of an internal funding round worth more than $240m to support further development of the Lilium Jet as well as underpinning preparations for serial production in Lilium’s newly-completed manufacturing facilities.
The funding round was led by Tencent, a Chinese technology group, with participation from other existing investors including Atomico, Freigeist and LGT.
The new funds bring the total sum raised to date to more than US$340m.
As well as designing and manufacturing the Lilium Jet, the company plans to operate a regional air mobility service as early as 2025 in several regions around the world. The company recently celebrated the completion of the first stage of flight testing, with the five-seater Lilium Jet demonstrator flying at speeds exceeding 100km/h.
“This additional funding underscores the deep confidence our investors have in both our physical product and our business case. We’re very pleased to be able to complete an internal round with them, having benefited greatly from their support and guidance over the past few years,” said Christopher Delbrück, chief financial officer at Lilium.
“The new funds will enable us to take big strides towards our shared goal of delivering regional air mobility as early as 2025.”
