Led by Meridian Capital, "Volant Aero", a leading company in the low-altitude economy, has completed a Series B financing of hundreds of millions of yuan to accelerate the manned test flight and airworthiness process.
Recently, VOLANT completed hundreds of millions of yuan in Series B financing, led by Huaying Capital. New investors such as SAIC Venture Capital participated in the investment, and existing shareholders Legend Capital, CDH Baifu, and Zigong Chuangfa also continued to increase their investments. The completion of this financing indicates the continuous recognition of the capital market for VOLANT's leading position and commercialization potential in the high - grade commercial passenger eVTOL field. It will also accelerate the company's product R & D, airworthiness certification, and commercialization process. It is worth mentioning that the company completed six rounds of financing against the trend in 2024.
The low - altitude economy is a fight for dominance in the new industrial field under the great - power game. For China, the development of the low - altitude economy has two important strategic meanings: First, to seize the technological high - ground of global aviation in the electrification era and the right to formulate standards in the low - altitude field, and develop China's aviation field into a "strong - suit" field; second, to improve the national airspace management, emergency, and safety systems, and redefine the air - ground linked transportation system.
Therefore, it can be seen that the low - altitude economy field has received strong policy support in recent years. This year's government work report proposed to "cultivate and strengthen emerging industries and future industries. Promote the integrated and clustered development of strategic emerging industries in depth. Carry out large - scale application demonstration actions for new technologies, new products, and new scenarios, and promote the safe and healthy development of emerging industries such as commercial space and the low - altitude economy." This is the second time that the low - altitude economy has been written into the government work report since 2024.
VOLANT was founded in this context. The company was established in June 2021 and focuses on the R & D and manufacturing of high - grade electric vertical take - off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). Its core team members all come from the civil aviation system. Dong Ming, the founder and CEO, has worked in the civil aviation field for more than 20 years and is a senior aviation system expert. He has worked at AVIC, General Electric (GE), Rockwell Collins, and AAE, and was deeply involved in the ARJ21, C919, and CR929 projects. Zhang Baozhu, the CTO, has nearly 30 years of experience in aircraft product development and research. He has participated in the development of multiple Part 25 transport - category and Part 23 general - aviation aircraft, such as the McDonnell Douglas MD90, Airbus A320, Bombardier C Series, Diamond DA42, and Diamond DA40.
VOLANT VE25 - 100 "Tianxing" AC101 completed its first flight
VOLANT's first compound - wing product, the VE25 - 100 "Tianxing", was market - oriented from the beginning of its design and is positioned in the commercial passenger field, covering all application scenarios of the low - altitude economy. With its spacious cabin space, flexible space design, excellent commercial load capacity, and safety level comparable to that of civil airliners, it has the advantages of high dispatch rate, adaptability to various weather conditions, and all - weather use. According to calculations, the single - seat operating cost per kilometer of this model is only 1/8 to 1/10 of that of the same - type helicopters. It has strong commercialization capabilities. It has already received confirmed orders from leading domestic airlines and leasing companies such as China Southern General Aviation, Yajie Airlines, and ABC Financial Leasing, providing a leading model for the industry's commercialization and injecting certainty into the development of the low - altitude eVTOL industry.
Since the first aircraft (AC101) of the development batch of VOLANT VE25 - 100 successfully completed its first unprotected flight on September 1, the VOLANT team is currently fully engaged in completing the rotor flight test subjects and preparations for test pilots to operate the aircraft. It plans to conduct manned flight tests in the near future.
Regarding this round of financing, Ji Wei, the founding managing partner of Huaying Capital, said: A mature R & D and airworthiness system and the ultimate pursuit of safety are the core factors for our current judgment on the development prospects of leading eVTOL companies and the entire industry. VOLANT is at the global forefront in both aspects. The product development in the aviation industry has its unique laws. We are pleased to see that while adhering to the highest safety level in the aviation industry, VOLANT has also achieved rapid R & D iteration, systematic management of the supply chain, and rapid commercialization promotion. This gives the company the opportunity to become one of the first domestic enterprises to obtain airworthiness certification for high - safety - level aircraft and to achieve eVTOL commercialization first. Against the background of Joby's market value exceeding 100 billion, we hope that VOLANT, as a leading enterprise in the eVTOL industry, can contribute important strength to China's participation in the great - power competition in the low - altitude field.