Joby Acquires Xwing Autonomy Division, Looks Ahead to Autonomous Flight
Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) has acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, known for its advanced autonomous aviation technology. Founded in 2016, Xwing has achieved 250 fully autonomous flights and over 500 auto-landings, marking significant milestones with the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force. Joby aims to leverage Xwing's Superpilot software and expertise to enhance its own electric air taxis and accelerate contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. This acquisition complements Joby's previous purchase of Inras GmbH, enhancing its technological capabilities for future autonomous operations.
- Acquisition of Xwing's autonomy division positions Joby at the forefront of aviation autonomy.
- Xwing's Superpilot software has achieved 250 autonomous flights and over 500 auto-landings.
- Xwing received FAA certification for a large unmanned aerial system in April 2023.
- Xwing's technology expected to accelerate Joby's contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.
- Acquisition complements Joby's 2021 purchase of Inras GmbH, enhancing radar sensor technology.
- Integration of Xwing's team of engineers, researchers, and technologists into Joby's operations.
- Terms of the acquisition deal were not disclosed, creating a lack of financial transparency.
- Potential shareholder dilution as the acquisition was paid for with Joby shares.
Insights
The acquisition of Xwing’s autonomy division by Joby Aviation is a significant move in the eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) market. From a financial perspective, this acquisition underscores Joby's commitment to advancing its technological capabilities. The fact that the acquisition was paid for with Joby shares, rather than cash, implies confidence in Joby's stock valuation and a long-term strategic view by both companies.
In the short term, this move might not yet translate into immediate financial gains or increased revenue streams. However, the integration of Xwing’s technology could accelerate Joby's timeline for achieving fully autonomous flight, which has the potential to unlock substantial cost savings and new revenue opportunities in the future. Investors should watch for the impact on Joby's cash flow and CAPEX (capital expenditures) as they integrate Xwing's team and technology.
Additionally, the connection to the U.S. Department of Defense contracts represents a stable and potentially lucrative revenue stream. Government contracts often bring financial stability and can be a significant growth driver for emerging technology companies.
The acquisition of Xwing’s autonomy division is a remarkable step for Joby Aviation in terms of technological advancement. Xwing’s Superpilot software and their expertise in autonomous flight greatly enhance Joby's capabilities in the eVTOL sector. The immediate technical benefit comes from integrating Xwing’s autonomous gate-to-gate flight technology, which has already completed 250 fully autonomous flights. This proven track record is a strong indicator of the technology's reliability and potential scalability.
Moreover, this acquisition positions Joby at the forefront of autonomous aerial mobility, a cutting-edge area with significant future potential. The focus on the U.S. Department of Defense contracts is also crucial, as successful technology demonstrations and integrations in this demanding sector can open up broader applications in the commercial market.
Investors should note that autonomous flight technology involves complex regulations and certifications, which might take time to navigate. However, Xwing’s progress with the FAA and the Air Force provides a strong foundation for overcoming these hurdles.
The acquisition of Xwing’s autonomy division by Joby Aviation is likely to have substantial impacts on the eVTOL market. This move not only strengthens Joby’s position as a leader in aerial mobility but also highlights the growing emphasis on autonomy in the industry. The market for autonomous air taxis is evolving, with increasing interest from both private and public sectors.
Joby’s strategic focus on integrating automation and autonomy aligns with broader industry trends towards reducing pilot-related costs and increasing operational efficiency. This acquisition could act as a catalyst for other players in the market to accelerate their own autonomy projects, potentially leading to more partnerships and acquisitions in the sector.
Furthermore, the association with the U.S. Department of Defense adds credibility and opens up new market segments, offering both stability and growth opportunities. Investors should be aware that while this acquisition is a positive development, the commercial adoption of autonomous air taxis still faces significant regulatory, technical and public acceptance challenges.
- Xwing is an industry leader in the development of autonomous technology for aviation
- Acquisition supports Joby’s long-term vision of making aerial mobility as accessible as possible through the adoption of autonomous technologies
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Expected to accelerate existing and potential future contracts with the
U.S. Department of Defense - Underscores Joby’s leadership position as a next generation aviation company
Joby announced the acquisition of the autonomy division of Xwing, Inc., an industry leader in the development of autonomous technology for aviation. Joby Aviation Image
Founded in 2016, Xwing has been flying autonomous aircraft since 2020, using the Superpilot software it has developed in-house. Superpilot enables safe, uncrewed operations, supervised from the ground, and is the world’s first fully autonomous gate-to-gate flight technology. With 250 fully autonomous flights and more than 500 auto-landings completed to date, Xwing became the first company to receive an official project designation for the certification of a large unmanned aerial system (UAS) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April 2023 and the first to receive an Air Force Military Flight Release in 2024.
The acquisition brings Joby to the forefront of aviation autonomy and complements the Company’s 2021 acquisition of Inras GmbH, a company developing lightweight, high-performance radar sensor technology. Xwing’s comprehensive approach, and expertise in perception technology, system integration and certification, is expected to benefit both near-term piloted operations for Joby as well as fully autonomous operations in the future. The Company also expects the technology to play an important role in accelerating the execution of existing contract deliverables with the
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO, said: “The aircraft we are certifying will have a fully-qualified pilot on board, but we recognize that a future generation of autonomous aircraft will play an important part in unlocking our vision of making clean and affordable aerial mobility as accessible as possible.
“The exceptionally talented Xwing team has not only made unparalleled progress on the development and certification of vision systems, sensor fusion and decision-making autonomous technologies, but they’ve also successfully demonstrated the real-life application of their technology, flying hundreds of fully autonomous flights in the national airspace. We’re honored to bring them onboard at Joby as we continue on our mission of building a next generation aviation company.”
A diverse set of engineers, researchers and technologists from Xwing will now be integrated into Joby where they will focus on the increased automation and autonomy roadmap for the Joby aircraft as well as expanding opportunities to partner with the Department of Defense on technology development.
Maxime Gariel, co-founder, President and Chief Technical Officer, Xwing, added: “Xwing’s goal of connecting communities with clean and affordable autonomous flight aligns closely with Joby’s long-term vision. I am incredibly proud of each member of the Xwing team and everything this talented group has achieved to date. For the past 7 years, our team has broken barriers to advance aviation autonomy. Now, as we join forces with the leading electric air-taxi developer, I can’t imagine a better home for the Xwing team to realize our shared vision.”
Xwing’s autonomous flights were completed using a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft, allowing the team to focus on areas such as vision system processing, detect and avoid algorithms, mission management including trajectory planning and real-time updates, decision making, ground control stations, remote operations and the integration of AI and machine learning algorithms.
In early 2024, the aircraft participated in the Air Force’s Agile Flag 24-1 Joint Force exercise, during which it completed daily flights, covering around 2,800 miles and landing at eight public and military airports, demonstrating the ability to integrate autonomous aircraft into the national airspace system.
"Autonomous systems are increasingly prolific in the private sector, and bring potentially game changing advantages to the Air Force as well," said Col. Elliott Leigh, AFWERX director and chief commercialization officer for the Department of the Air Force. "We created Autonomy Prime to keep up with this shift, and to stay engaged as a partner while this technology evolves, so that we can adapt and evolve along with the private sector, maintaining our competitive advantage."
The acquisition covers all of Xwing’s existing automation and autonomy technology activities and was paid for with Joby shares. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a
About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the development and performance of our aircraft, our regulatory outlook, progress and timing; our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity, including potential benefits of autonomous technology on the development of our aircraft, our current and future contracts with the
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