The current financing for Lilium is structured in several phases. First, Tencent committed to a funding injection of 89 million euros (100 million dollars). The tech conglomerate also pledged to invest an additional 67 million euros (75 million dollars) if Lilium succeeds in raising the same amount from other investors.
The air taxi company has now apparently managed to do so. As Lilium reports, it has raised 67 million euros (75 million dollars) through the placement of additional shares. In addition, Earlybird Venture Capital, BIT Capital, UVC Partners, Frank Thelen, and several board members and senior employees invested an additional 37 million euros (42 million dollars). Following this, Tencent released the tranche of an additional 67 million euros, as agreed in May. Like the previous financing, this investment is being handled through Tencent subsidiary Aceville.
Potential customers to secure further financing for Lilium
Already upon completion of the first part of this financing, Lilium stated it would cover capital requirements until the first crewed flight. This was to take place by the second half of 2024. After that, advance payments from potential customers are to secure further financing. The Munich-based company has already convinced several: Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s national airline, wants to acquire 100 Lilium jets, ASL Group plans to establish an air transit network in the Benelux countries with six jets, and Helity Copter Airlines plans to deploy five of the aircraft in Andalusia. In southern France and Italy, Globeair is planning to operate 12 of the jets. And Chinese company Heli-Eastern also wants to acquire 100 Lilium jets.
Lilium was founded in 2015 as a spinoff from the Technical University of Munich and is developing an eVTOL aircraft that is fully electric, taking off and landing vertically. In 2021, the startup went public on the US tech exchange Nasdaq through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). In doing so, the air taxi company secured around 496 million euros (584 million dollars).
