Gadowski invests in Shanghai air taxi start-up Autoflight

Team Europe, led by investor Lukas Gadowski, is investing 100 million dollars in Autoflight. The Shanghai-based start-up wants to set up a team in Munich to launch air cabs in Europe as well.

It was only this year that investor Lukas Gadowski returned with his incubator Team Europe, and now he is announcing his investment in the air cab company Autoflight from Shanghai. As the Handelsblatt reports, 100 million dollars will go to Autoflight. This is the third air cab start-up in Gadowski's portfolio. The money is not going directly to the company, but to an offshore fund in the Cayman Islands. This is a precautionary measure on the part of the Chinese company, which some listed companies in China are apparently taking. They cite the Chinese government's strict regulation of investments by foreign companies and investors as the reason. They are never allowed to relinquish more than 50 percent.

For Gadowski, Autoflight, founded by Yu Tian, is his largest single investment to date. "Over the past three years, I have heard what Tian has promised and achieved. And what others have announced and achieved. This has created trust," says Gadowski, describing his decision. In addition to Autoflight, he has also invested in Volocopter from Germany and Archer from the USA.

Autoflight has been in existence since 2017 and currently employs 360 people. The start-up already has an unmanned drone flying in China. Its autonomous flying cab is a four-seater and is currently in the test phase. Yu's plan for his company is now to set up a factory near Shanghai and hire a team in Munich to take care of certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). A branch is also planned in North America.