Boeing Invests Additional 540 Billion KRW in Autonomous Flying Taxi Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has made an additional investment of $450 million (approximately 538.9 billion KRW) in Wisk Aero, a venture company developing fully autonomous flying taxis (unmanned air taxis).

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 24th (local time), Boeing announced that it will make an additional investment in Wisk Aero, which was co-founded by Larry Page, co-founder of Google.

WSJ reported that Boeing is the largest shareholder holding a majority stake in Wisk Aero, but did not disclose how much Boeing's shareholding increased with this investment.

After acquiring unmanned aircraft manufacturer Aurora Flight Sciences in 2017 to lay the foundation for autonomous flight aircraft development, Boeing established a joint venture with Kitty Hawk, an electric aircraft manufacturer founded by Larry Page, Google's co-founder, in 2019 to create Wisk Aero.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Wisk Aero is developing a vertical takeoff and landing electric aircraft (eVTOL) that can be operated as an unmanned air taxi service.

This aircraft will carry 3 to 4 passengers without a pilot, take off and land vertically like a helicopter, and provide intercity transportation services.

Boeing plans to unveil the unmanned air taxi currently under development by the end of this year but did not mention a specific commercialization timeline.

Mark Allen, Boeing's Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), said, "Wisk Aero's strategic strength lies in developing autonomous flight aircraft directly without going through manned flight."

Competition among U.S. venture companies to lead the unmanned air taxi market is intensifying.

Rivals in the aircraft manufacturing industry, Airbus and Embraer, are also developing their own electric air taxis in cooperation with other startups, and the U.S. Air Force is reportedly developing military air taxis, according to WSJ.