Air-Taxi Startup Raises $94 Million and Enlists Ex-Daimler CEO 

(Bloomberg) -- Volocopter GmbH, a startup developing autonomous electric air-taxis backed by Intel Corp., secured fresh funding from investors including Germany’s rail operator and said a former Daimler AG chief is now an adviser.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, MS&AD Ventures and TransLink Capital joined Deutsche Bahn’s freight arm in the latest financing round generating about 87 million euros ($94 million), the German company said in a statement on Friday.

Volocopter’s new fundraising dwarfs its previous ones, and the addition of former Daimler head Dieter Zetsche and Geely Holding Group’s Yifan Li as advisers adds credibility to its plan to launch people and cargo-carrying drones. Also backed by Daimler, the startup has now attracted 122 million euros in funds.

The company said in addition to helping certify VoloCity air-taxis and VoloDrone cargo crafts for airworthiness, the extra money may go toward a potential initial public offering. It’s looking to secure its first commercial flights in the next two to four years.

Jochen Thewes, CEO of German freight company DB Schenker, is also joining Volocopter’s advisory council alongside Zetsche and Li.

To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Weiss in Frankfurt at rweiss5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Schaefer at dschaefer36@bloomberg.net, Andrew Noël, Anne Pollak

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