Flying Car Start-Up Raises $90 Million

Michael J. de la Merced reported this week at The New York Times Online that, “As interest in flying cars continues to swell, one of the most prominent start-ups working on the technology has gained a big new backer.

Lilium Aviation, a German company that held a successful test flight of the Eagle, its two-seat electric jet, at its Munich base this year, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $90 million in a new round of financing.

“The investment was led by Tencent Holdings, the Chinese internet giant. Other investors in the round included LGT, the investment vehicle of Lichtenstein’s royal family; Atomico, the venture firm run by a founder of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom; and Obvious Ventures, the investment firm co-founded by the Twitter co-founder Evan Williams. Mr. Zennstrom has previously invested in the company.”

The Times article noted that, “Lilium is among several companies looking to usher in an era of Jetsons-type flying cars, including those backed by the Google co-founder Larry Page, Uber and Airbus. But the two-year-old company is trying to stand out by focusing on an electric jet — unlike other models that effectively function more like hovercraft.”

“Lilium is also working on a bigger, five-seat version of what it calls an ‘air taxi‘ that could ferry passengers or cargo as far as 300 kilometers, or 186 miles, and reach a maximum speed of 300 kilometers an hour,” the Times article said.

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