Lilium Aviation, a Germany-based developer of flying cars that take off and land vertically, closed a $90m series B round today that included internet group Tencent.

Asset management firm LGT, Atomico and Obvious Ventures also contributed cash to the round.

Founded in 2015, Lilium Aviation is working on flying cars that take off and land vertically. The company hopes its Lilium Jet will reach speeds of up to 300km/h and stay in the air for an hour at a time on a single charge.

The company was spun out of Technical University of Munich through the institution’s commercialisation arm Unternehmertum.

The money will go towards the development of the Lilium Jet, a five-seat vehicle that will operate commercially, and drive recruitment.

Atomico previously provided €10m ($12m) in series A funding in December 2016, after the firm had committed an undisclosed sum the previous June. VC firm Freigeist (then known as E42) had provided Lilium’s seed round.

Lilium launched with support from intergovernmental organisation European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre in Bavaria.

David Wallerstein, chief exploration officer at Tencent, said: “Transportation technologies play a fundamental role in structuring our everyday lives. Lilium’s electric powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft offers new mobility options that can benefit people around the world.

“From under-developed regions with poor road infrastructure, to the developed world with traffic congestion and sprawl, new possibilities emerge when convenient daily flight becomes an option for all of us.

“Lilium offers a substantial and environmentally-friendly transportation breakthrough for humanity.”

Lilium Aviation, a Germany-based developer of flying cars that take off and land vertically, closed a $90m series B round today that included internet group Tencent.
Asset management firm LGT, Atomico and Obvious Ventures also contributed cash to the round.
Founded in 2015, Lilium Aviation is working on flying cars that take off and land vertically. The company hopes its Lilium Jet will reach speeds of up to 300km/h and stay in the air for an hour at a time on a single charge.
The company was spun out of Technical University of Munich through the institution’s commercialisation arm Unternehmertum.
The money will go towards the development of the Lilium Jet, a five-seat vehicle that will operate commercially, and drive recruitment.
Atomico previously provided €10m ($12m) in series A funding in December 2016, after the firm had committed an undisclosed sum the previous June. VC firm Freigeist (then known as E42) had provided Lilium’s seed round.
Lilium launched with support from intergovernmental organisation European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre in Bavaria.
David Wallerstein, chief exploration officer at Tencent, said: “Transportation technologies play a fundamental role in structuring our everyday lives. Lilium’s electric powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft offers new mobility options that can benefit people around the world.
“From under-developed regions with poor road infrastructure, to the developed world with traffic congestion and sprawl, new possibilities emerge when convenient daily flight becomes an option for all of us.
“Lilium offers a substantial and environmentally-friendly transportation breakthrough for humanity.”
– This article first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing.