Would you like to take a trip on an unmanned, all-electric aircraft? If the answer is yes, you might soon have your chance. Wisk, an SF-based aircraft manufacturer, has spent the last several years developing its own fully autonomous taxi planes.
Now, following a fresh injection of capital from Boeing, the startup is poised to take flight. All told, Boeing invested a whopping $450 million in the company to fuel the development of its autonomous aircraft.
Wisk’s eVTOL aircraft are not only fully autonomous, they’re also completely electric and intend to carry passengers, not cargo. But before they can take to the skies, they of course need to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If all goes to plan, the eVTOL would be the first aircraft of its kind to receive certification from the FAA, according to the company.
“[We’re] extremely well-positioned to deliver on our long-term strategy and commitment to safe, everyday flight for everyone,” Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk, said in a statement.
Wisk got its start in 2010 under a different name, Zee Aero. Later the startup merged with the Kitty Hawk Corporation. Soon after recognizing the commercial potential of Zee’s fifth generation aircraft, the product and its team were spun out to form Wisk.
The odds look good for Wisk, which has completed over 1,500 test flights to date, according to the company. Within five years following its certification, Wisk anticipates conducting close to 14 million annual flights across 20 U.S. cities.
The latest raise will support Wisk as the company plans to enter an “intensive” growth phase over the next year. The massive sum will also support the company’s go-to-market efforts and its preparations for the launch of scale manufacturing.
Wisk is currently on the lookout for fresh faces to join its team across 63 open roles. The company is hiring across nearly every department, from engineering and finance to product and marketing. A handful of available positions are available to work remote.
