Joby Aviation, a US-based air taxi developer backed by corporates Intel, JetBlue, Toyota and Uber, agreed a reverse merger yesterday with special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners.
Baupost Group, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Fidelity and Baillie Gifford have anchored a $835m private investment in public equity, while Uber will convert $75m of bonds into equity.
Combined with $690m held in trust by Reinvent, Joby Aviation will receive $1.6bn in gross proceeds and the combined business is expected to fetch a $6.6bn post-money valuation.
The merged business will trade on the New York Stock Exchange once the deal closes by the end of the second quarter of 2021.
Founded in 2009, Joby is developing vertical take-off and landing aircraft to take passengers to their destinations by air. The company has conducted more than 1,000 test flights and intends to launch its service in 2024.
Proceeds will allow Joby to begin its commercial flights by getting regulatory approvals and opening manufacturing sites.
Joby had secured $75m from Uber in December 2020, and the company acquired the latter’s Uber Elevate unit alongside the deal.
Uber had already provided $50m in a series C round eleven months earlier, led by automotive manufacturer Toyota and its Toyota AI Ventures subsidiary. The round was reported as being worth $590m at the time, but Joby revealed in its latest announcement it was actually $620m.
Intel Capital and JetBlue Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing arms of chipmaker Intel and airline operator JetBlue respectively, as well as AME Cloud Ventures, Baillie Gifford, Capricorn Investment Group, Global Oryx and Sparx Group filled out the series C investors.
Joby closed a $100m series B round in 2018 featuring Intel Capital, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, 8VC, AME Cloud Ventures, Allen & Company, Capricorn Investment Group, EDBI and multiple private investors.
Capricorn had led a $30m series A round for the company two years prior.
