Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation has secured an additional investment of $75m from ride-sharing provider Uber. Credit: Svitlana Hulko / Shutterstock.

US-based small electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles developer Joby Aviation has entered an agreement to acquire Uber’s air taxi business Elevate.

As part of a broader agreement between the companies, Joby Aviation has secured an additional investment of $75m from ride-sharing provider Uber.

Additionally, the two companies agreed to integrate their respective services into each other’s apps.

The completion of the deal is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the early first quarter of 2021.

The two companies did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition.

Joby Aviation founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said: “We were proud to partner with Uber Elevate last year and we’re even prouder to be welcoming them into the Joby team today while deepening our cooperation with Uber.

“The team at Uber Elevate has not only played an important role in our industry, they have also developed a remarkable set of software tools that build on more than a decade of experience enabling on-demand mobility.

“These tools and new team members will be invaluable to us as we accelerate our plans for commercial launch.”

In January, a $50m investment was made by Uber during Joby’s Series C financing round Uber. To date, Uber invested a total of $125m in Joby.

Joby Aviation’s all-electric, vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft can fly at a top speed of 200 mph for up to 150 miles. It is expected to be operational by 2023.