Joby Aviation Goes Public

Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt was at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to ring the bell, signaling a start of the day’s trading and the company’s launch into the stock market.

“Aviation connects the world in critically important ways but today it does that at the expense of our planet,” Bevirt said Wednesday morning. “By taking Joby public, we have the opportunity to drive a renaissance in aviation, making emissions-free flight a part of everyday life. This is our generation’s moonshot moment, and at Joby we’re proud to be leaning in.”

Joby is now listed as “JOBY” and “JOBY WS.”

This Santa Cruz, California-based company, which launched in 2009, joins the ranks of China-based competitor EHang in the quest to find solutions toward zero-emission aviation. Competitors Lilium and Archer have also announced their own plans to go public in the future.

Wednesday’s listing was made possible through a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Reinvent Technology Partners (RTP). The deal is valued at $6.6 billion.

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and co-lead director of RTP, said Wednesday, “We believe Joby is ‘Tesla meets Uber in the air’ and the clear leader in the eVTOL and aerial ridesharing space. We believe Joby is well-positioned with capital to be the first company to certification and commercialization. Closing this business combination accelerates Joby’s roadmap, and we look forward to supporting JoeBen and Joby’s world-class team in executing on their vision.”

Outside the NYSE building on Wall Street, Joby had its aircraft on display, the first such public showing for the company. Joby hopes to use the aircraft to launch a commercial ridesharing service in 2024 with aircraft that will transport a pilot and up to four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph with a range of 150 miles. Each is expected to cost upwards of $1.3 million each to produce, according to Forbes.

Joby’s public listing is just the latest in a growing list of achievements for the company.

Most recently, the company announced it reached its range target with a 150-sm flight on a single charge. The news was shared on July 27 at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc.

Earlier in July, Joby also said it had joined up with Signature Flight Support, and JetBlue to create a path to using aviation and electric credits on the carbon credit market in concert with the development of electric- and hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Joby also has strategic partnerships with Toyota Motor Company, which invested nearly $400 million, and Uber Technologies.