REGENT Craft, the Rhode Island-based manufacturer of all-electric seagliders, has raised $60 million in Series A funding co-led by 8090 Industries and Founders Fund.
The round includes previously announced strategic investments by Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, Lockheed Martin, and Yamato Holdings, and is joined by Point72 Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Mark Cuban, UAE’s Strategic Development Fund, Future Planet Capital and others, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $90 million. The new funding fully capitalizes REGENT’s full-scale prototype build and test program with crewed flight in 2024, and the company says will keep it on track to certify, manufacture, and deliver its seagliders to customers by mid-decade.
Coupling advanced technologies from hydro-foiling watercraft and electric aviation, seagliders operate like a boat at docks and in harbours, take off from wave-tolerant hydrofoils, and fly within one wingspan of the surface over open water. They reach cruise speeds up to 180 mph while traveling up to 180 miles on a single charge.
“There are extraordinarily few companies today with battery powered vehicles that can fly human crew, and REGENT is about to join those ranks,” said Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of REGENT. “Seagliders will be the first electric flying machine to be economically viable, and I’m willing to bet, the first one that the majority of the world will take a ride in.”
Thalheimer adds: “8090 Industries is the perfect investor to lead this round, bringing a deep bench of industrial titans focused on sustainability, aerospace, and defense that will support scaling REGENT’s global footprint. We're also thrilled to have the continued support of Founders Fund, whose vision for a new era of American industrialism couldn’t be a better fit for our goal to revolutionize regional travel. The validation from such incredible strategic partners across the commercial and defense sectors underscores the urgent need for a high-speed, low-cost, sustainable mobility solution.”
REGENT has secured a commercial order book for over 500 seagliders representing more than $8 billion from global airline and ferry customers including Mesa Airlines, Brittany Ferries, and FRS. The company recently announced that Southern Airways will take delivery of the first production Viceroy, which will operate under their Mokulele Airlines brand.