Joby Aviation Is Acquiring Blade Helicopters for $125 Million
Joby just made a big move in the aviation world.
The electric aircraft company, which specializes in manufacturing eVTOLs, announced plans to buy helicopter taxi service Blade Air Mobility for $125 million on Monday, The New York Times reported.
The deal would grant Joby access to Blade’s infrastructure, routes, and customers—a valuable acquisition as Joby works to obtain regulatory approval for its battery-powered aircraft. Joby’s eVTOL is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers up to 100 miles before needing to recharge, which works well with Blade’s short-distance routes in New York and southern Europe.
Blade offers jet service in addition to helicopter taxis, which will be included in the sale. The company also provides organ transportation, a sector that comprised nearly 60 percent of their almost $250 million reported revenue last year, according to the NYT.
That division will remain a stand-alone business, with Joby becoming a preferred partner of the company, while Blade chief executive and founder Rob Wisenthal will join Joby and continue running Blade. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.
The acquisition is one of many recent advancements for Joby, whose aircrafts resemble both a helicopter and a small plane. The aircraft features six propellers, which help it to take off and land vertically. Once airborne, the propellers tilt forward and the aircraft flies like a plane.
The result is a form of air travel with reduced emissions, quieter operation, faster travel times, and access to more remote areas. The tech behind eVTOLs has the potential to revolutionize urban mobility, and while it’s still in its early stages, Joby is making waves.
The company received a $500 million investment from Toyota last October—in addition to the $394 million the Japanese automaker invested in 2020. Joby has also seen its share prices rocket 66 percent this year, with plans to launch commercial networks in the UAE before 2026.
The industry at large is gaining traction, with President Trump signing an executive order in June aimed at accelerating testing of air taxis, prompting industry faith that the first air taxis could be certified in the U.S. as early as next year.
While Blade has not invested a lot in helicopters, owning only around 15 percent of the aircraft it uses, that flexibility opens the door for a shift to electric jets in the future.
Joby said the deal would be finalized in either stock or cash, and the company will gain access to software developed by Uber years ago including an app for customers, and tools used by pilots and in operations.
“Blade has spent 10 years building a whole bunch of best-in-class infrastructure, really working to hone the customer experience,” JoeBen Bevirt, Joby’s founder and chief executive, told The New York Times. “We see that as a launchpad for helping us to accelerate the scale-out of our passenger service.”
