[7] This research led Joby to participate in the NASA X-57 Maxwell and LEAPTech projects, before developing its own air taxi concept.

[11] In 2020, however, the company began releasing significantly more information, starting with its January announcement of a $590 million funding round, led by Toyota Motor Corporation.

[24] In January 2022, the company registered what it claimed was the fastest eVTOL flight to date, traveling at a true airspeed of 205 mph (330 km/h).

[25] On February 16, 2022, a remotely piloted prototype crashed during a test flight in rural California,[26] sustaining substantial damage.

[27] In April 2022, Joby acquired hydrogen-aviation pioneer H2Fly, a spinoff of the DLR Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics of the German Aerospace Center.

The company said the U.S. Air Force will receive early production units in 2024 as part of a $131 million contract, which would be the first ever eVTOL to be delivered to a paying customer.

A demonstration flight was performed at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport as part of an announcement by the city of its intention to electrify the facility.

[35] On Feb, 2024, Joby Aviation announced that it has begun the process of becoming a certified air taxi operator in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The announcement was made during the International Civil Aviation Organization’s first Advanced Air Mobility Summit in Montreal, Canada.

[41] In February 2021, the company entered into a business combination agreement with Reinvent Technology Partners, a SPAC funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Mark Pincus.

[44][45] In October 2022, Delta Air Lines announced a $60 million investment in Joby Aviation to offer “home-to-airport” flights, at first from New York City and Los Angeles.

[46] The Joby air taxi is intended to be a four-passenger commercial aircraft with a pilot, capable of traveling up to 150 miles (240 km) on a single charge at a top speed of 200 mph (320 km/h), with a maximum payload of 1,000 pounds.

[31] Nearly silent in flight,[48] the electric-powered aircraft is designed to operate with no emissions and to be 100 times quieter during takeoff and landing than a helicopter.