Wisk Aero: the American autonomous eVTOL supported by Boeing
This page is translated from the original post "Wisk Aero : l’eVTOL autonome américain soutenu par Boeing" in French.
- 26/01/2022 12:35
American company Wisk receives an investment from aerospace giant Boeing and hopes to launch the first autonomous Aero eVTOL in the United States.
In 2010, Wisk was just a young startup trying to make its mark among numerous electric flying object projects, with its Zee Aero. Following multiple eVTOL prototypes and a technological leap toward autonomy, it is a record-breaking investment that has arrived.
A heavyweight ally for flying toward success
This week, Wisk announced it had secured its finances with the support of an aviation giant. Boeing invested $450 million (400 million euros) into the company, which claims to be a leader in the sector. The investment is not just financial, according to CEO Gary Gysin, as Boeing is a technological partner “providing its expertise”.
Wisk’s goal is to launch the first certified autonomous flying taxi in the United States. It is on the right track, as one of the two companies selected by NASA (along with Joby Aviation) to discuss flight certification conditions in airspace.
A Wisk Aero prototype already tested
The Aero is the 5th generation of prototypes and the result of five years of development. It succeeds the lineage started by the Zee Aero in 2010. Wisk had already flown the country’s first eVTOL with its Hover in 2016. It then operated its first autonomous takeoff, followed by the first fully autonomous eVTOL flight with Cora. To date, 1,500 test flights have been conducted.
Wisk aims to take a large share of the future eVTOL market. The company estimates it will involve 14 million trips per year and 40 million users across 20 cities. The brand has not yet announced a specific launch date.
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