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Joby Aviation said it has finalized a new $180-million equity investment led by Baillie Gifford, allowing the eVTOL manufacturer to accelerate early production of its first electric aircraft.
The transaction closed May 5, 2023, following a public offering that saw Baillie Gifford — an early investor in Joby, as well as in Tesla and Amazon — capture for its clients nearly 44 million common shares in the Silicon Valley aviation startup.
“We welcome the opportunity for us to continue supporting the team at Joby as they move into a manufacturing scale-up phase and delivery of aircraft into service,” a Baillie Gifford spokesperson said in a statement. “It is important as long-term investors — even more so in a challenging environment — that we maintain our approach of backing transformational companies to build new growth industries.”
Baillie Gifford is a private partnership based in the U.K., and has held investments in Joby since 2020. Its additional $180-million equity investment was unprompted, according to Joby.
“We are comfortable with the robustness of our balance sheet and were not looking to raise capital,” said Katie Pribyl, a spokesperson for Joby. “However, when Baillie Gifford … reached out, looking to increase their investment on behalf of their clients, we felt it was the right opportunity with a high-quality investor and a straightforward structure. Their vision for sustainable transportation matches ours very well.”
As a result of the deal, Baillie Gifford manages for its clients about 8% of Joby’s outstanding shares. This new investment allows Joby to capitalize on a recent contract extension with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and generate revenue as it pursues type certification with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“Additionally, we will be able to advance our production plans without impacting the funds we’ve committed to our aircraft certification program,” Pribyl said.
Joby plans to roll out its first company conforming aircraft in the first half of 2023, and to fly with a pilot on board before the end of the year. The company said it remains on track to start commercial operations in 2025, and touted its financial standing in a recent Q1 update.
“With more than $1 billion in funds available, we are comfortable with the robustness of our balance sheet,” Pribyl said. “We are focused on stage four of the certification process where we design, develop, and dry run the testing we described in stage three, ahead of entering formal for-credit testing with the FAA.”
Joby cited $978 million on its balance sheet at the end of Q1 2023, excluding the additional $180 million from Baillie Gifford. This arrived on the heels of a $55 million contract extension with the DoD that includes the provision of up to nine aircraft. The first two aircraft are to be stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, starting in early 2024.