Gaoyu: Utilizing low-altitude manned technology to comprehensively establish a new paradigm for low-altitude travel

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At the beginning of this year, when Gaoyu was spun off from GAC Group and officially began independent operations, hardly anyone noticed this emerging technology company that had just completed its mixed - ownership reform.

However, just a few months later, it quietly secured 200 million yuan in Pre - A round financing. This round of financing was jointly invested by Guotai Junan Fund, Sichuan Hongwei Fund, Puchao Capital, Houxue Capital, Guangzhou Development Zone Low - altitude Fund, etc. The cumulative financing amount in 2025 has reached 500 million yuan. The company's first - phase production line is about to be put into operation, and it has started frequent communication with local governments, scenic spots, and travel platforms.

Gaoyu's goal is very clear: to become a leading technology enterprise in low - altitude technology, expand the electrification technology, supply chain system, and intelligent capabilities that GAC Group has accumulated over the past decade to the low - altitude field, and transform eVTOL, an aviation product, into a low - altitude travel vehicle that can be manufactured on a large scale, operated safely, and improve users' travel efficiency.

Full - scenario product matrix and full in - house R & D technical capabilities

In terms of products, Gaoyu currently has three products with different configurations, namely the air - land dual - use AirCar, the multi - rotor AirCab for urban commuting, and the compound - wing AirJet for inter - city travel, covering all terminal scenarios of eVTOL. Among them, the multi - rotor AirCar and AirCab can meet the short - distance leapfrog travel needs within 30 km, effectively connecting the "economic islands" in local areas; the compound - wing AirJet can meet the inter - city travel needs within 200 km, represented by the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area. In the future, after being equipped with GAC's all - solid - state battery, its endurance is expected to exceed 400 km, providing a new solution for rapid movement between transportation hubs and cities.

In terms of technology, Gaoyu has achieved full in - house R & D of core components such as flight control, autonomous driving, and navigation, and successfully solved the "bottleneck" problem of civilian airborne equipment. The multi - rotor AirCab is equipped with 6 sets of redundant rotor power systems, while the compound - wing AirJet innovatively adopts an 8 - axis 8 - propeller and dual - duct configuration. In addition, Gaoyu already has a number of key core technologies such as L4 - level low - altitude autonomous driving and aviation - grade carbon fiber composite materials, which support intelligent obstacle avoidance and route control in complex environments. All three products adopt the unmanned driving mode, which means that Gaoyu is leading the market in terms of technology and is fully prepared for the second - half competition in low - altitude travel.

In terms of the supply chain, Gaoyu originated from the intelligent connected vehicle division of GAC Group, and inherently has the endowment for large - scale mass production of high - safety and complex products, as well as the ability to integrate and improve the supply chain cluster. Therefore, more than 70% of the capabilities and supply chain resources required for eVTOL R & D and production can be reused. With the addition of a large number of aviation talents, Gaoyu has formed an IPD paradigm that integrates "automobile + aviation", achieving the improvement of the reliability level of the automotive - grade supply chain with aviation safety standards and the improvement of the large - scale production capacity of the aviation supply chain with the automotive production paradigm. Compared with traditional industry solutions, the supply chain capabilities driven by the two - wheel model have significantly improved quality and significantly reduced costs.

Focus on ecological construction and strengthen core barriers

The industrial chain of the low - altitude economy is long and complex. Aircraft manufacturing is just the first step. The operation of the entire system also requires infrastructure equipment such as take - off and landing points, software support such as communication and navigation, and auxiliary links such as operation platforms. The challenges are just beginning.

From the first day of its establishment, Gaoyu has been clear about promoting systematic construction from the top - level design. That is, as an eVTOL mainframe manufacturer, it should work with ecological partners such as the government, scenic spots, and operators to jointly promote the establishment of a new low - altitude service system.

Su Qingpeng, the founder and chairman of Gaoyu, told 36Kr that he is currently most concerned about the new infrastructure for low - altitude manned flights, that is, building stations, setting up platforms, and establishing standards. "We hope that users can open an app, enter their destination, and then leave the rest to the system. They can reach their destination with one click and feel at ease naturally," said Su Qingpeng.

To this end, Gaoyu actively cooperates with leading travel platforms to explore how to seamlessly integrate low - altitude orders into the existing travel ecosystem. "For online platforms, it seems to be just a matter of issuing two more orders on the surface," he said. "But the real challenge lies in the air part: how to manage take - off and landing? How to arrange stations? How to operate efficiently and safely?"

And this is precisely Gaoyu's core barrier.

"All things such as modularization, platformization, and standardization need to be planned in advance, and then the development of complex systems can be carried out. The advantage of this is to make a large - scale layout in advance. If large - scale production is to be carried out, then preparations need to be made in advance on how to establish a quality system, quality control, and supply chain management."

Gaoyu promotes the "scalable" design from the underlying architecture. Su Qingpeng introduced, "Like Tesla, we define products by demand and vehicles by software. We prioritize the architecture, centralize computing power, separate software and hardware, and pre - install hardware. Subsequently, we only need to open the reserved interfaces and functions, or even through OTA, we can quickly upgrade and accelerate the iteration speed of aviation products. This is the new four modernizations of low - altitude travel unique to manned eVTOL."

Clarify policy expectations and accelerate implementation

The bottlenecks in the low - altitude economy industry mainly lie in airspace management, airworthiness certification, and operation models, and each of them requires the promotion of national - level forces. Su Qingpeng also realized in a timely manner that the state's support for the low - altitude economy in recent years is consistent with that for new - energy vehicles a decade ago.

If we rewind the clock to 2014, no one believed that electric vehicles could replace fuel - powered vehicles at that time, and there were constant skeptical voices. However, today, that once - unbelievable future has become a reality. National will, industrial collaboration, and market demand have finally jointly promoted the explosion of the new - energy vehicle industry. Currently, the low - altitude economy is included in the 14th Five - Year Plan, and a special low - altitude economy department was established in 2024, which is exactly the same as when new - energy vehicles were included in the 13th Five - Year Plan. Su Qingpeng realized in a timely manner that the inflection point for the explosion of the eVTOL industry is coming.

Clear policy signals mean that the most difficult and crucial regulatory thresholds in the low - altitude economy industry will be gradually overcome, and the industry will enter a virtuous cycle. Automobile enterprises, due to their similar ability genes to eVTOL, have taken the lead in achieving industrial extension, giving birth to three new leading eVTOL mainframe enterprises oriented towards low - altitude technology breakthroughs - XPeng HT, GAC Gaoyu, and Geely Volantor, forming the "Wei Xia Li" pattern in the low - altitude field. "Hui Gao Fei" will become the pioneer flag for the accelerated evolution of the low - altitude industry.

Based on the expectation of favorable policies, Gaoyu has set a clear implementation path and promotion rhythm.

Su Qingpeng introduced that Gaoyu plans to complete the production line construction, obtain airworthiness certification, actively lay out standardized stations, and vigorously promote and sign exclusive operation rights and management rights in 2026.

On the basis of clarifying the implementation rhythm, Gaoyu has also planned 4 key implementation paths.

First, prioritize station construction. Gaoyu is cooperating with ecological partners, local governments, scenic spots, and transportation hubs to promote "standardized take - off and landing points" in policy - friendly regions such as the Greater Bay Area. These stations are not only physical infrastructure but also "low - altitude travel service units" integrating charging, dispatching, security inspection, and user interaction. Behind a demonstration route is the establishment of a collaborative mechanism with multiple departments such as local air traffic control, emergency management, and cultural tourism.

For example, in May this year, Gaoyu and Shengxiang Aviation jointly held the 2025 Low - altitude Economy Ecological Scenario Conference. The "Hundred Cities and Thousand Platforms" plan and the "Industry + Operation" model announced at the conference all target the key pain points of the low - altitude economy industry.

As Su Qingpeng said, "Although we only manufacture aircraft, we will actively participate in and promote every link in the ecosystem."

Second, jointly build operations. Ruqi Mobility, also in the GAC system, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Gaoyu to promote the feasibility study of the travel pilot project of Robotaxi (autonomous vehicle) and Robo - AirTaxi (flying car). "We are also discussing with Gaode and Didi how to integrate low - altitude orders into their apps; at the same time, we are cooperating with regional tourism groups and general aviation companies. They are responsible for daily operations, and we provide aircraft, data systems, and standard support," said Su Qingpeng.

In addition, Gaoyu has also reached an in - depth strategic cooperation with Dassault Systèmes. Dassault will provide a globally advanced solution for full - process digital collaboration based on its digital platform.

The cooperation between Gaoyu Technology and Guangdong Unicom will promote the development of communication technology for flying cars and build a high - security data link dedicated to flying cars. This "asset - light operation + technology - heavy empowerment" model not only avoids the risk of heavy investment but also accelerates market penetration.

Third, output standards. Su Qingpeng said that without standardization, there is no standardization. Standardization can integrate industry resources and improve resource utilization efficiency. The essence of laying out the standard layer is actually to build a moat for the future. Therefore, Gaoyu is actively involved in the formulation of industry standards for new - type aircraft.

In 2025, Gaoyu has reached strategic cooperation agreements with enterprises such as Zhongchuang Xinhang and Suteng Juchuang. All parties will participate in the formulation of airworthiness standards and industry standards in fields such as low - altitude batteries and low - altitude autonomous driving with Gaoyu's complete aircraft data as the blueprint, creating a replicable technology model for the entire industry and avoiding resource consumption caused by repeated R & D.

Fourth, cultivate users. Gaoyu also focuses on more details. Su Qingpeng said that Gaoyu attaches great importance to the user experience, especially for female users who are more sensitive to safety. Gaoyu has conducted a lot of research, collected many users' detailed demands for safety, comfort, and experience, and finally transformed them into development requirements. "We found that many users are not afraid of flying itself but of the 'unknown'." So the team optimized the voice guidance before take - off, the cabin view design, and added more interactive functions inside and outside the cabin.

This "user - centered" approach can truly make consumers like flying, allow operators to make money, and make the ecosystem function. Gaoyu's calculations show that low - altitude travel can save more than 70% of the time, and the cost is only 2 - 3 times that of ground taxis.

The commercialization path proposed by Su Qingpeng makes the business of the low - altitude economy no longer just a theoretical concept, allows the beauty of low - altitude technology to benefit the public, and truly integrate into people's lives.

We have reason to believe that with the confluence of policy support and the wave of large - scale industry, a booming emerging blue ocean will surely be born. The low - altitude manned industry is at this moment, showing exciting potential with a thriving posture. Gaoyu will also continue to lead the industry development with its forward - looking strategic vision, keen market insight, profound technological accumulation, excellent innovation ability, and strong talent potential, establish an excellent benchmark in the low - altitude manned field, and outline the grand blueprint of the era of intelligent travel.

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