(Reuters) – British investment management firm Baillie Gifford will invest $180 million in electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation, they said on Wednesday.
This comes days after Joby clinched a $55 million contract extension to deliver up to nine air taxis to the U.S. Air Force, marking the company’s first revenue-generating operations.
Unlike other electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) manufacturers, which plan to sell aircraft to customers such as airlines and logistics companies, Joby’s business model is similar to a rideshare app.
“It is important as long-term investors – even more so in a challenging environment – that we maintain our approach of backing transformational companies to build new growth industries,” a Baillie Gifford spokesperson said in a statement.
The British investment firm are also investors in Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc and online retailer Amazon.com Inc.
The investment is expected to close on May 5, Baillie Gifford and Joby said on Wednesday.
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Joby also reported cash and short-term marketable securities of $978 million at the end of the first quarter, before the investment.
Once certified, the EVTOL maker will compete in a crowded market with dozens of other developers such as Archer Aviation and Vertical Aerospace Ltd vying to revamp urban transportation.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram and Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)