300 Millionen US-Dollar, das bestehende Rekord für die Finanzierung im niedrigen Luftraum in China gebrochen

This year, the record for financing in the low - altitude industry was broken.

The investment community learned that today (April 27), Volant Aero announced that it had completed a Series C financing of $300 million. The lead investor was Leishi, followed by Sequoia China and Shanghai State - owned Futeng Capital. The old shareholders, Mingzhi Venture Capital and Legend Capital, have once again over - invested.

This is not only the largest single financing in the Chinese manned eVTOL vehicle field so far, but also set the largest financing record in the national low - altitude industry in recent years.

What's even more interesting is the composition of the investors - Middle Eastern oligarchs, top VCs, and local state - owned assets have invested in an eVTOL manufacturing company together for the first time. After a conversation with Dong Ming, the founder and CEO of Volant Aero, the investment community has gained a particularly profound impression: After a long - standing stir in the low - altitude industry, a top - notch company has finally emerged.

Dong Ming, founder and CEO of Volant Aero

An industrial race is approaching in the sky. The next century of global aviation might possibly start in China.

A financing breaks the industry record

Weather vane

This financing will go down in Chinese low - altitude history.

If you look at the list of investors, the splendor of the composition is astonishing. What's even more interesting is that all three new investors are investing in an eVTOL manufacturing company for the first time.

The lead investor Leishi has an impressive background. Based in Abu Dhabi, it focuses on top - notch technology companies in emerging Asian markets and has previously invested in robotics and autonomous driving in China. It's easy to understand the decision to finance Volant Aero with a large amount now - the Middle East is a key factor in Volant's overseas strategy. So, the arrival of foreign capital providers not only has financial significance.

In addition, there is Sequoia China, which has a long - standing history with Volant Aero. A little - known detail is that the two sides have been in contact since the founding of Volant Aero. This long - term assessment has finally paid off.

Moreover, Shanghai State - owned Futeng Capital has also invested, giving this financing a stronger industrial signal.

Shanghai is currently focusing more on the low - altitude economy and aims to promote leading eVTOL companies. The city's state - owned capital is investing in an eVTOL manufacturing company for the first time. Looking at the timeline, Volant Aero has already attracted the attention of various state - owned capital providers in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Zigong and other cities early on, and they have regarded it as the top choice in the low - altitude industry.

It's obvious that the three top - notch institutions agree on Volant Aero. The further the industry progresses, the higher the certainty, and resources gather around top - notch companies. Volant Aero's financing is the best proof of this.

This consensus didn't exist from the start. Looking at the first financing, it wasn't easy for Volant Aero to raise capital.

It was early 2021 when the company just started operating. At that time, there was no concept of the "low - altitude economy" in China, and the US company Joby wasn't listed on the stock exchange yet. Many investors didn't even know what eVTOL was. This sector was unfamiliar and there were few references. It seemed like there was fog in front of them.

Dong Ming, the founder and CEO of Volant Aero, still remembers this moment well. At the investment decision - making meeting at Shunwei Capital, the atmosphere was tense. He tried his best to explain the technology, the market, and the industry path, but it was more about assessments than proofs. After several discussions, no one could fully convince the other. But finally, Shunwei Capital gave Volant Aero the first sign of trust in an atmosphere of differences in opinions.

Looking back today, it almost seems like a fulfilled prophecy. In five years, the predictions that Volant Aero wrote in its business plan have become a reality:

In terms of the product, Volant Aero's first model, the VE25 - 100, successfully completed its first pilot flight test, and the testing basis and the entire testing plan were approved. In the commercialization area, it has received a total of nearly 2,000 sales intentions and about 30 firm orders. At the industry level, China's "15th Five - Year Plan" has identified the low - altitude economy as an emerging pillar economy.

Time doesn't favor anyone without reason, but only rewards those who recognize it first.

It's this ability to look beyond differences in opinions that makes Volant Aero's most important backbone. At the low point, it didn't lose its rhythm; in the upswing, it didn't overestimate itself, but efficiently mastered the most difficult phases of product development, approval, commercialization, and financing.

So far, Volant Aero has broken the industry financing record several times: It has completed the most financing rounds in a year and achieved the highest cumulative financing amount. Now, it has also received the largest single financing in the Chinese manned eVTOL vehicle field.

Revealing the team behind it

After conversations with several investors, the focus is always on Volant Aero's team and corporate culture.

This is due to the industry itself. The difficulties in developing top - class commercial eVTOL vehicles never lie in a single technology, but in high inter - disciplinarity, a systematic development process, and high approval standards. This means that every company dedicated to this project must have both a forward - looking assessment of the industry direction, the ability to develop civil aircraft, and the patience for long - term commercialization.

Volant Aero's core team is the concentration of these abilities.

Dong Ming, the founder and CEO of Volant Aero, comes from an aviation family and has had a flying dream since childhood. Initially, he worked in software development and hardware development and has worked in companies such as Aviation Industry Corporation of China, General Electric, Rockwell Collins, and AVIC - ESSA. He participated in the development of important models such as the ARJ21 and C919 and also volunteered to lead the train control system on the Golmud - Lhasa section of the Qinghai - Tibet Railway.

Dong Ming told the investment community an episode. At the beginning of the C919's development, he took over the technology transfer from GE as the Chinese representative. It took four years, from processing a large amount of information to completing the first deliverable system. The difficulties are not easy to describe. This experience convinced him that the development of commercial aircraft ultimately depends on people and corporate culture. Without perseverance and a love for truth, one can't build truly recognized aircraft.

In 2021, he officially founded Volant Aero with his team and focused on commercial passenger transportation with eVTOL - the most difficult direction in this sector. Besides the technical challenges, it's especially important how to efficiently organize and promote a whole system of long - term projects with close cooperation and dozens of disciplines. Every step in the development of commercial passenger aircraft must be strict, thorough, and able to withstand being explained, checked, and verified. For a new team, this is the real test of abilities.

Many people haven't noticed that Dong Ming built Volant Aero's team and organizational structure according to the principles of civil aircraft development from the start.

The core technicians generally have similar backgrounds to Dong Ming and have been engaged in the development of civil aircraft models for many years, covering the most important disciplines. The research and development follow a positive process, and system engineering is responsible for controlling the complexity of the entire process. The approval requirements are considered in the design and validation phases and are continuously strengthened through numerous tests without taking technical shortcuts.

The engineering culture is therefore the foundation of Volant Aero: Value efficiency and cooperation, results, and above all, the causes of problems. It's precisely this method, which doesn't seem very clever at first glance but achieves the best results, that has enabled Volant Aero to move forward.

Although this approach seems "stupid", it exactly matches the most sought - after abilities in the eVTOL field: the rhythm of civil aircraft development, the approval method, the discipline in complex projects, and the high requirements for "commercializability". Therefore, Volant Aero has achieved outstanding results in research and development efficiency first.

The first validations came quickly. In the early days, Volant Aero didn't even have a proper office, but it successfully flew the first miniature aircraft only three months after its founding. Although the aircraft wasn't large, it was an important proof for the company that the technical direction was correct and that the team could move things forward.

In Dong Ming's opinion, there are recognizable opportunities in the aviation industry. Looking at the history of aviation, there are only a few companies that can complete the development of an aircraft in 3 to 5 years. Since aircraft are inherently global products, this means that research and development efficiency determines who has a better chance of being in the lead.

Very quickly, the first product of Volant Aero's "Three Models, Three Generations", the VE25, came to the fore: It has a composite wing configuration and a six - seat structure, and the overall size is already close to that of a medium - sized helicopter. The next year, the full - scale technical validation aircraft of the VE25 was successfully completed and successfully completed the first test flight round in January 2023.

"We define our first product as safe, robust, and practical. Its task is to explore and open up the application market for eVTOL. So, we've chosen a technical path that has higher inherent safety and better maturity. We hope to complete the development quickly and enter the market to validate and improve in real scenarios. All this, of course, always requires sufficient safety." Dong Ming explained.

But in 2023, it was almost over for the young company. Volant Aero had a series of problems at that time, and just at this moment, an investor who had already reached an agreement withdrew.

Just at this time, Volant Aero's systematic development system passed the toughest test. Then, the company first completed the full conversion from the multi - rotor flight mode to the fixed - wing flight mode and then hired core managers such as Huang Xiaofei and Zhang Baozhu. The team quickly stabilized again.

When Dong Ming talks about the most difficult times, he doesn't avoid the word "suffering". But it was actually the team that brought the company forward. He said: "The research and development continued as usual, the test flights continued, and the approval processes were never interrupted. Even twenty or thirty employees were willing to reduce their salaries to stay in the company."

Only after getting through the darkest night can one see the brightest star. Since then, Volant Aero has reached a milestone almost every year. By 2025, the VE25 completed its first manned flight test. This was also the first time that an eVTOL with a carrying capacity of one ton actually took people into the air.

Before the first manned flight test, an expert panel of the Chinese Flight Test Institute completed the review and clearly confirmed to Volant Aero that its development quality and maturity were not inferior to those of other civil aircraft models. After the flight, the pilot's assessment was also clear: The maneuverability and stability of the eVTOL were excellent.

Over time, Dong Ming has increasingly noticed that the so - called "fate interconnection" works like this: The past paths finally lead to the present and gradually shape Volant Aero's corporate culture: Self - confident and modest, open and rigorous, efficient and hard - working, uncompromisingly honest. In this way, this team always retains the strength to move forward.

China's window of the low - altitude economy

Value is king

The field is vast, and the opportunity is here.

In recent years, the low - altitude economy has grown significantly. People still clearly remember that in 2024, the "low - altitude economy" was mentioned as a new growth engine in the government work report for the first time. As part of the "15th Five - Year Plan", it is regarded as an emerging pillar economy. According to predictions by the Chinese civil aviation authority, the market of the low - altitude economy could reach over...