Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation, Inc. is an American aerospace company operating in the advanced air mobility sector. Trading publicly on the NYSE under the ticker JOBY, it is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to carry one pilot and four passengers on short-haul routes, pursuing a more vertically integrated strategy than many aerospace startups.

The company was founded on September 11, 2009 by JoeBen Bevirt (formerly known as Joby Aero from 2009 to 2021) and is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. Bevirt serves as CEO and Paul Sciarra as Chairman. It originated as one of several projects Bevirt incubated on his ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, using proceeds from earlier company exits.

Joby's S4 aircraft is a five-seater eVTOL air taxi using six tilting propellers on a fixed high-wing and V-tail. Its distributed electric propulsion system — leveraging NASA's LEAPTech demonstrations and powered by lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese-oxide batteries — gives the roughly 4,800-lb aircraft a top speed of 200 mph (322 km/h) and a range of more than 100 miles, positioned as a quiet, all-electric option for on-demand air taxi service.

Joby plans its first scaled production facility in Dayton, Ohio, investing up to $500 million and creating roughly 2,000 jobs, while its expanded pilot facility in Marina, California is expected to produce up to 24 aircraft a year. The company has a major partnership with Toyota Motor Corp., which has invested $900 million in total (including a recent $250 million tranche), and is progressing through the FAA's multi-stage type certification process required to launch commercial passenger service. Innovation in eVTOL design, electric propulsion, and certification is central to its business.