Expands U.S. Ops To Scale Production of UAS For Logistics, Defense

AIR, an Israeli manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft for uncrewed commercial and defense logistics, additional defense missions, and personal piloted aircraft, announced it has raised $23 million in Series A funding to further scale its aircraft production and expand its operations in the U.S.

The investment round was led by Entrée Capital and Dr. Shmuel Harlap, who has been an investor in AIR since its inception about seven years ago.

The interest in AIR reflects a global growth in demand for next-gen air mobility and spurred by President Donald Trump’s recent Executive Order promoting eVTOL production and integration into the nation’s airspace system. Also driving interest is the just-announced FAA MOSAIC rules that updated LSA certification to include eVTOL type aircraft like the company’s AIR ONE.

AIR believes it is positioned to become one of the first eVTOL aircraft to receive LSA certification.

AIR has completed deliveries to its first logistics customer in 2023 to signify the beginning of commercial deployment of its aircraft. AIR’s uncrewed cargo eVTOL is designed for the growing demand for efficient, adaptable, and scalable air transport in industries such as cargo delivery, disaster response, contested logistics, and remote access operations.

The eVTOL has a 550-lb payload capacity with 70 cubic feet of cargo space, and can attain speeds up to 120 kts to a range of 100 miles.

Rani Plaut, CEO and Co-founder of AIR observed, "This funding solidifies AIR's path forward and enables us to continue fulfilling the promise we made to our customers. We're proud to have demonstrated our ability to succeed with lean operations, generating significant revenues in the eVTOL space while operating efficiently. We have no doubt that with Entrée Capital's backing and knowledge, we will be able to deliver our advanced air mobility solutions to the market even faster than before."

Avi Eyal, Managing Partner of Entrée Capital said, "We have tracked AIR from its initial founding to the point where it has achieved full flight operations across commercial (logistics), consumer, and defense applications. We led the investment in AIR given our belief in its vision and it being the only OEM in its category that is delivering a real product today, years ahead of any rival. We are fortunate to have a tremendous founding team with such experience leading the company."

FMI:  www.airev.aero/