NEOM has invested $175 million in Volocopter. This deal expands NEOM's strategic partnership with Volocopter to progress an advanced air mobility industry in Saudi Arabia.
Nadhmi Al-Nasr, Chief Executive Officer at NEOM, said: "This crucial investment aligns with the ambitious plans announced by HRH Mohammed bin Salman, the Chairman of NEOM's Board of Directors, for the Kingdom to achieve sustainability and to develop NEOM into an accelerator of human progress. It will contribute to taking humanity closer to a new era of mobility an era defined by zero-emission, electrically-powered vertical take-off, and landing vehicles. Together with the Kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation, NEOM and Volocopter will make concepts like air taxis an everyday reality for its residents and visitors."
Dirk Hoke, CEO at Volocopter, said: "This is the first time in history that eVTOLs, with their unique characteristics, are being factored into the design of a region that is being built from scratch. This offers a whole new approach to how urban air mobility can increase the quality of life in cities. NEOM's investment bears testament to our leading position as a technology pioneer in the race to become the first company to break into the emerging urban air mobility market."
In close collaboration with Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), NEOM and Volocopter are implementing a national test bed for Saudi Arabia to enable the integration of eVTOLs with zero-emission future urban mobility.
NEOM is a city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and function as a tourist destination. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba, and south of Jordan.