Startup Raises $25 Million For The Development of Uber’s Flying Taxis

Earlier, Uber presented that they would be introducing flying cars sometime in the future. Now, it seems, the future may be closer than we think…

To turn their vision into reality, Uber partnered up with different companies and startups. One of their partners, startup Karem Aircraft, just went above and beyond and raised $25 million for the development of the new air taxis, specifically the Butterfly air taxi.

“Karem’s technology for making safe, quiet, and efficient air taxi vehicles excites all of us,” Uber Elevate head Eric Allison said in a statement. “Hanwha’s Series A investment in Karem’s new air taxi entity accelerates efforts to bring the Butterfly to market, and we look forward to flying riders in places like Dallas, Los Angeles, and Melbourne in the near future.”

The Butterfly air taxi will allow customers to avoid traffic and commute to places much faster. For example, a ride from San Francisco to San Jose with an UberX would normally take around 1h 40 mins, while with UberAir, it would take just 15 mins!

If you’re wondering how exactly this Butterfly air taxi will work, imagine the combination of a helicopter and aircraft. It will take-off and land vertically like a helicopter, but once it’s in the air, it will be as fast as a fixed-wing aircraft. Not to mention, the Butterfly is also designed to be quiet and environmentally conscious.

“The new company will be able to focus exclusively on bringing Butterfly to market, leveraging Karem’s optimum speed rotor technology, Hanwha’s industrial scale, and Uber’s ridesharing network,” Ben Tigner, CEO of the new venture, said in a statement. “We look forward to the day when riders will be able to commute to work by flying above the traffic in one of our vehicles.”

Uber is planning to start testing these new air taxis next year and to fully launch the service in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Melbourne by 2023.