Joby Aviation, an aerospace company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced a strategic partnership with Atoms to acquire and develop vertiport sites in the United States.
The companies will initially focus on Florida, New York and Texas, the markets where Joby is preparing to launch early operations under the White House-backed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), as well as California.
Joby's aircraft is approaching commercial readiness. The company has flown its first FAA-conforming aircraft and entered the final stage of FAA type certification. Piloted flights across the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City have demonstrated its operational capability. As air taxis move from certification to early operations, the constraint will shift to the ground: aircraft will need places to land, charge, and connect passengers to the rest of their journey.
Atoms Real Estate builds smart city infrastructure for cities. In this partnership with Joby, Atoms will develop vertiports as next-generation transportation hubs, where electric aircraft, autonomous ground vehicles, and ridesharing services will converge. The hubs will enable passenger connections, aircraft servicing, and last-mile ground transportation.
"Thoughtful urban planning can take a decade or more, and making electric flight part of everyday life will require a new generation of transportation hubs connecting aircraft, ground transportation, and communities," said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, in a statement. "As air taxis move closer to early commercial service in the U.S., the right infrastructure becomes increasingly important, not just where aircraft land and charge, but how cities embrace this new form of transportation. Atoms has a vision of building ambitious infrastructure projects that combine technology, operations, and customer experience, making them a natural partner for Joby."
