The escalating forces of geopolitical tensions and rising defense budgets have encouraged many electrical vertical takeoff and landing (EVTOL) manufacturers to take a two-range approach to building aircraft.
Air, who is developing the Israel-based Startup Evtols, thought it would be wise to take a similar approach from Get-go, and to design both privately operated aircraft using the same aircraft and core systems so that both use cases could be developed at once.
The company currently offers piloted EVTOL crafts, known as Air One, and is used for personal use, offering non-black and white EVTOL designed for freight transport, conflict logistics and defense applications. Since its first cargo EVTOL delivery in late 2023, the company has secured more than 2,500 pre-orders for its piloted personal aircraft, Air One, and plans to ship 15 cargo EVTOLS this year.
To build that momentum, Air recently raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Antrée Capital. The new capital will be used to scale Israeli production facilities, hire additional employees and help the company expand into the US, CEO and co-founder Rani Plaut told TechCrunch in an interview.
This Series A funding will be triggered by a recent US executive order to promote domestic drones and EVTOL development and an update to the FAA mosaic rules expanding certification pathways.
The company’s currently operating freight aircraft do not require full type certification and, according to Plaut, fly under an experimental airworthiness certificate (EAC) for logistics and double-use missions. The EAC is issued to aircraft for development, testing or research purposes. They allow aircraft to fly under strict conditions and restrictions.
“Our launch customers are flying under an experimental airworthiness certificate, which translates to a “type” certificate once the non-white-official EVTOL completes the authentication process,” he said.
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Type certification means that an aircraft meets all applicable safety and regulatory standards and can be produced and operated commercially. EAC will automatically “convert” and will not enter the certificate. AIR may use its EAC to test the prototype while using the type authentication process.
Meanwhile, Air expects the two-seat pilot Air One to qualify for Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) certification under the new mosaic rules. Aviation certified as LSAs is limited to flying outside of densely populated areas and leaving controlled airspace.
“We designed the air from day one, and predicted a more streamlined certification pathway that was consistent with the mosaic LSA standards,” added Plaut. “Now with the rules settled, we are on track to obtain our first Piloted EVTOL certification to reach individual customers under the LSA. Our goal is to start deliveries as soon as the rules become enforceable in 2026.”
The United States is a great market for today’s EVTOL companies, especially given the opportunity to land corporate and government contracts, as the Trump administration is increasingly adopting a hawk defense stance. However, the Air faces fierce competition. JobyAviation and Archer Aviation have already partnered with airlines to enable air taxi services and, together with beta technology, already have military contracts to test aircraft reconnaissance and logistics capabilities. Plus, Air has not yet produced EVTol in the US. This is a table stake to win government contracts.
Still, according to Air, its design architecture and cost control gives it an advantage over incumbents. We hope that the current funding round will serve a planned US-based manufacturing hub for mass production.
“What sets the air apart is the shared design DNA between variants of both aircraft,” Plaut says. This unified architecture allows for cross-platform upgrades. In other words, he explained that advances in one model can be applied to other models to streamline development, manufacturing, and scalability.
“The size and folding wing mechanism solve the key infrastructure hurdles,” explained Prout. “They don’t need airports or complicated handling, they can park in most garages and driveways only on flat surfaces.”
Air’s Conted Model also follows a simplified SOPS (standard operating procedures), which, according to the CEO, allows even minimally trained ground crews to operate. “And we fill the cost gap by applying automotive-grade manufacturing principles for scalable production,” he added.
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