K4 Aeronautics, a US-based offshoot of aerospace technology supplier Karem Aircraft focused on developing air taxis, has received $25m in a series A round led by industrial conglomerate Hanwha Systems, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday.
The round’s other participants were not identified. K4 Aeronautics is a codename, with an official name not yet revealed.
Karem Aircraft is slated to supply its electric vertical takeoff and landing systems to Uber Elevate, the flying taxi subsidiary of ride-hailing company Uber scheduled to begin operations in 2023.
K4 aims to deliver an all-electric aerial vehicle, Butterfly, for taxi journeys. Butterfly’s design features four large rotors motored on the vehicle’s wings and tails.
Butterfly will exploit Karem Aircraft’s optimum speed rotor technology to provide the vehicle with effective lift, while also avoiding excessive noise so large fleets can operate over cities without causing annoyance.
Hanwha’s involvement is anticipated to provide a financial grounding for the company, in addition to a solid understanding of the manufacturing and scaling requirements needed to bring Butterfly to market.
Abe Karem, founder of Karem Aircraft, will act as the chief designer for the new project, splitting his time between both businesses.
Ben Tigner, chief executive of the Karem spinout, said: “The new company will be able to focus exclusively on bringing Butterfly to market, leveraging Karem’s optimum speed rotor technology, Hanwha’s industrial scale and Uber’s ridesharing network.
“We look forward to the day when riders will be able to commute to work by flying above the traffic in one of our vehicles.”