Volocopter has raised $170 million in the initial signing of its Series E funding round led by South Korean investor WP Investment at a pre-money valuation of $1.7 billion. Composed of funds by new and existing investors, the money raised will assist with the certification of Volocopter's electric passenger air taxi and is expected to help the company achieve commercial launch in first cities such as Singapore, Rome and Paris.

"This funding round is a testament to Volocopter's leading position in what is a highly attractive emerging market. We continue to make significant technical and commercial progress as we work toward bringing urban air mobility to life at scale in cities worldwide," says CEO Florian Reuter.

CCO Christian Bauer adds: "Volocopter has spectacular investors from around the globe, which puts us in an excellent position to focus on our first-to-certification and first-to-market strategies before we embark on the path to public listing. I'm excited to accelerate our path to commercial launch together with investors, partners and the phenomenal Volocopter team."

Seoul, Republic of Korea-based WP Investment is a leading and new investor for Volocopter in this funding round. The two companies will enter into a strategic partnership by creating a joint venture that will bring urban air mobility to South Korea's cities.

"We are confident that Volocopter will be among the first to bring UAM to cities globally, since seeing its aircraft fly in Seoul last year. As a leader in ESG investment, we are excited to empower city sustainability through Volocopter," says WP chairman Dr Lei Wang. And co-chair Tiffany Park adds: "We are excited to kick off our joint venture and be the first to establish sustainable eVTOL logistics and air taxi services with Volocopter in Korea."

Honeywell is also a new investor, and many existing investors such as Atlantia, Whysol and btov Partners have reinvested in this round.

"We decided to strengthen our investment in Volocopter because we strongly believe in its ability to rapidly bring to life this innovative and sustainable mobility," says Atlantia investment director Europe Elisabetta De Bernardi. "We will continue to promote urban air mobility, a fast-growing business that can help reduce emissions and traffic in large cities."

"Our successful first signing of Series E brings phenomenal new investors on board, with further in the due diligence stage. This private funding round allows us to stay focused on our mission to bring sustainable urban air mobility to life," says Stefan Klocke, chairman of Volocopter's advisory board. "We have never been in a stronger position: we are financially diversified, certification of the aircraft is within reach and we are demonstrating our advanced capabilities by public flights and strong joint-ventures across the world."

The company recently entered a financing agreement in principle with Aviation Capital Group (ACG) to shape the sale and leasing of its aircraft for up to $1 billion. Once aircraft certification has been achieved, this agreement will allow Volocopter to offer its operating entities and customers worldwide attractive leasing options, a key to rapidly scaling the business in the future.