Vertical Aerospace Secures Approximately $100 Million for Valo's Certification and Market Launch

British air taxi developer Vertical Aerospace has announced funding commitments totaling approximately $100 million. The additional capital is primarily intended to advance the further certification and commercialization of the Valo eVTOL platform. The funding follows several technical milestones and public test flights by the company.

The financing consists of three components. Approximately $40 million is expected to come from Mudrick Capital, Vertical Aerospace’s largest shareholder. Of this amount, $5 million has already been drawn down, with an additional $35 million to follow under an existing convertible note facility. However, this portion is still subject to final agreements.

An additional $35 million will come from a capital increase involving existing and new investors. On top of that, $25 million will come from a preferred equity facility with Yorkville Advisors Global.

Fresh Capital for the Path to Certification

Vertical Aerospace intends to use the new capital to strengthen its financial position and fund several key development milestones. This includes, in particular, the Critical Design Review. The purpose of this review is to establish the certifiable design basis for Valo, on the basis of which aircraft compliant with certification requirements can subsequently be built and tested.

In addition, the company plans to open an expanded Energy Center. This is expected to triple battery production capacity. At the same time, Vertical is preparing to expand future production capacity, including planned manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom.

The support reflected in this financing—from new investors as well as further commitments from existing investors—demonstrates strong confidence in Vertical’s market position and progress.

Stuart Simpson, CEO

The company’s hybrid strategy is also set to benefit from the funding. The third prototype is to be retrofitted accordingly and will be used for testing with a hybrid-electric powertrain in the first half of 2027.

Does anyone still remember Lilium and Volocopter?

A look at Germany shows that another round of funding for an eVTOL manufacturer is by no means just a footnote. At one point, two German companies—Lilium and Volocopter—were among the industry’s best-known international hopefuls. Ultimately, however, both failed due to the enormous capital intensity required to reach commercial deployment.

Lilium filed for bankruptcy for the first time in 2024. Although a rescue initially seemed possible, further financing fell through, and the company filed for bankruptcy again in early 2025. Subsequently, the focus shifted to liquidating the company’s assets and its extensive patent portfolio.

Volocopter also filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2024 after failing, despite intensive efforts, to secure sufficient financing for the final steps leading up to market entry.

These two German examples thus also illustrate what the approximately $100 million invested in Vertical is actually for: In the eVTOL industry, it is not enough to develop a technically sound aircraft. Certification, testing, ramping up production, and market launch consume enormous sums of money long before any significant revenue is generated from the actual product.

Test flights are intended to demonstrate technical progress

Vertical Aerospace can point to several important milestones in this regard. According to the company, it became the world’s second provider to complete a full transition flight with a manned, full-scale tiltrotor eVTOL.

At the Farnborough International Airshow, five demonstration flights took place within five days. During the event, the company publicly demonstrated manned eVTOL transition flights for the first time.

At the same time, Vertical is expanding its activities beyond the traditional civil air taxi market. This includes a partnership with Near Earth Autonomy for autonomous flight systems. The British Ministry of Defense has also expressed interest in the company’s hybrid-electric and autonomous technologies.

Approximately 1,500 pre-orders for Valo

Valo is designed as a piloted eVTOL for four passengers and is intended to fly in electric mode without direct emissions. In addition, Vertical is developing a hybrid version with a longer range and additional operational capabilities.

According to the company, there are currently around 1,500 pre-orders. Customers mentioned include American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, GOL, and Japan Airlines.

Vertical is collaborating on development with aerospace companies such as Honeywell, Syensqo, and Sonaca, while also developing its own battery and propeller technologies.

$100 million is a lot of money, but in this industry, it can be spent quickly

The new funding of approximately $100 million provides Vertical with additional resources for the capital-intensive journey from flight testing to certification and mass production. However, the experiences of Lilium and Volocopter show how quickly even funding in the hundreds of millions can be used up in aviation development.

What will therefore be decisive is not so much whether Vertical conducts further spectacular test flights, but whether the company can translate its technical progress into certification, reliable production, and ultimately commercial operation. Just how long the new funds will last is likely to become clearer with the half-year results. Vertical Aerospace plans to present an updated forecast on its liquidity and financing situation on August 13.