Joby Aviation Raises $500 Million from Toyota for Flying Taxis: Startup Funding Roundup

Joby Aviation just closed the largest single round of funding for a flying taxi startup in years.

The $500 million came from Toyota, which is among multiple major transport companies that want to see flying taxis — essentially modern helicopters — as part of everyday commercial travel.

Among others, Archer Aviation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars this year as it develops its own flying taxis and an airport network in California.

Six travel startups announced fundraises over the last week totaling nearly $540 million.

Joby Aviation: $500 Million

Joby Aviation, which is developing an electric air taxi for commercial service, has raised $500 million from Toyota Motor Corp.

The first half of the funding is expected to close later this year, and the second is planned to close in 2025.

Toyota has now invested $894 million in Joby. Toyota says its investment aligns with its aim to redefine itself as a “mobility company” and  “realize the dream of air mobility for personal or daily travel.” 

Joby has now raised a total of $2.5 billion in funding, according to Crunchbase. The startup went public in 2021 at a valuation of $4.5 billion through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

The California-based company is designing an electric vertical take-off and landing air taxi (eVTOL) with a top speed of 200 miles per hour, a maximum range of 150 miles, and space for a pilot and four passengers.

The company intends that its aircrafts will be used in urban settings as a type of rideshare service, bookable through an app. It says its aircraft would take 7 minutes to travel from downtown Manhattan to JFK Airport. 

Skyports, which raised $110 million earlier this year, is designing a vertiport ahead of plans for Joby to begin air taxi services in Dubai by 2026.

Joby’s latest funding will go toward certification and commercial production of the aircraft. The company in August said that the fourth of five stages in its certification process was more than one-third complete. 

Joby recently finished its third aircraft in pilot production at its facility in California, where Toyota engineers work side-by-side with Joby staff. The company has begun construction on an expanded facility expected to open next year. 

Toyota has also been helping Joby with developing the production processes since 2019. The companies signed an agreement in 2023 that Toyota will supply key components for the production of Joby’s aircraft. 

Air Doctor: $20 Million

Air Doctor, an app that connects travelers with health care providers, has raised $20 million in series B funding.

The round was led by aMoon, with participation from Tokio Marine Holdings, Samsung Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vintage Investment Partners, Phoenix Insurance, and Munich Re Ventures.

Tel Aviv-based Air Doctor says it has a network of more than 20,000 doctors and specialists in 84 countries, offering medical consultations at any time in 21 languages. It offers clinic visits, home visits, and video consultations, with the ability to issue valid local prescriptions.The company says its tech is also meant to streamline processing for health care providers and insurers. 

The funding will go toward the startup’s expansion in Asia, the company says.

Aiello: $5 Million

Aiello, an AI concierge for hotel guests, has raised $5 million.

Cool Japan Fund and CDIB Cross Border Innovation Fund II co-led the round, with participation from E.Sun Venture Capital, B Current Mstar Impact Investment, JAFCO Asia, and Wistron Corp.

Taiwan-based Aiello sells an in-room device to hotels, integrated with an AI powered bot with which guests can interact via text or voice. It looks like a high-tech alarm clock, but the integrated AI bot can answer certain hotel-services questions, accept room service requests, give local travel recommendations, and control room functions like heating, the startups says.

The startup says it has facilitated more than 55.1 million guest interactions. 

Aiello has contracts with more than 180 hotels, covering over 20,000 rooms. Clients include Seibu Prince Hotels & Resorts, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Taiwan’s Cosmos Hotels & Resorts and Caesar Park Hotels & Resorts.

The funding will go toward international expansion, particularly in Japan and Southeast Asia, the startup says.

Odysee: $5 Million

Odysee, which is focused on helping airlines optimize aircraft scheduling, has raised $5 million in seed funding

UP.Partners led the round. 

Odysee is the first startup founded and spun out by Alaska Airlines and UP.Labs, a program that develops business ideas for the mobility sector. Alaska Airlines and UP.Labs formed a partnership last year, and they plan to launch more startups over the next three years focused on issues in aviation and mobility.

Arkansas-based Odysee says its AI-powered platform helps airlines account for the issues that come with planning route schedules. It’s also meant to assess the impact — including on revenue and profitability — that can come with certain schedule changes. It works by running hundreds of simulations within seconds as a stress-test for future schedules, the startup said.

Odysee plans to expand its focus to include other airline logistics and operations later. 

Alaska Airlines is the startup’s first customer. 

Hotelverse: $5.5 Million

Hotelverse, which makes digital copies of hotel layouts so that guests can choose their rooms, has raised $5.5 million (€5 million) in series A funding. 

GED Conexo Ventures led the round, with support from Faraday Venture Partners, Eoniq Fund, Sabadell VC, and Archipelago Next

Spain-based Hotelverse says its software takes a similar approach in the model for airlines, many of which allow passengers to view the aircraft setup before selecting their seats. 

Hotels can integrate the tech into the booking process on their website. The startup allows the hotel to share specific room attributes, including floor plan, views, hours of direct sunlight, and views from the window. 

Guests pay an average of €60 extra to choose their hotel rooms, which the startup said increases direct booking sales by more than 30%.

Clients include Radisson Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels, Grupo Barceló, RIU Hotels, Palladium Hotel Group, and the hotels Pestana CR7 on Gran Vía in Madrid.

Truely: $3.5 Million

Truely, an eSIM app, has raised $3.5 million in funding. 

The round was led by 1982 Ventures, with backing from Beenext, Kopital Ventures, and angel investors.

Singapore-based Truely allow modern mobile phone users to access internet data in more than 200 locations without the need to change physical SIM cards.

The company also plans to start selling its services to travel providers, which they could then offer to consumers.  

Skift Cheat Sheet

Seed capital is money used to start a business, often led by angel investors and friends or family.

Series A financing is typically drawn from venture capitalists. The round aims to help a startup’s founders make sure that their product is something that customers truly want to buy.

Series B financing is mainly about venture capitalist firms helping a company grow faster. These fundraising rounds can assist in recruiting skilled workers and developing cost-effective marketing.

Series C financing is ordinarily about helping a company expand, such as through acquisitions. In addition to VCs, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.

Series D, E, and, beyond These mainly mature businesses and the funding round may help a company prepare to go public or be acquired. A variety of types of private investors might participate.