Germany-based airborne taxi developer Lilium has begun talks with investors including internet group Tencent to raise $400m to $500m in funding, TechCrunch reported today, citing people familiar with its plans.
An undisclosed venture capital investor told TechCrunch: “It is a very large round at a very large valuation,” though none of the sources provided details of that valuation nor any additional investors to which the company is speaking.
Founded in 2015, Lilium is developing a five-seater electric-powered flying vehicle that will utilise vertical take-off and landing technology, and which is designed to operate as part of an airborne transport service.
The company revealed a prototype version of the vehicle in May this year and said it aims to be offering a taxi service using the machine by 2025. It is set to have a 300-kilometre range and a top speed of 300 km per hour.
Lilium was spun out of Technical University of Munich (TUM). Its last funding involved it receiving $90m in a series B round that included Tencent, asset manager LGT, investment firm Atomico and venture capital firm Obvious Ventures in 2017.
Atomico had originally supplied an undisclosed amount of seed capital for the company in June 2016, after Freigeist Capital – the investment firm then known as E42 – had purchased a 15% stake three months earlier for an undisclosed sum.
Atomico subsequently provided $10.8m in series A funding in December 2016. TUM’s commercialisation vehicle Unternehmertum is reportedly also among its investors.
