Wisk, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, has secured $450 million in funding from The Boeing Company.

This investment will further advance the development of Wisk’s 6th generation electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, a candidate for certification of an autonomous, all-electric, passenger-carrying aircraft in the U.S. The funding will also support the company as it enters an intensive growth phase over the next year, its preparations for the launch of scale manufacturing, and the company’s Go-to-Market efforts.

Within five years following the certification of its 6th generation aircraft, Wisk intends to operate one of the industry’s largest fleets of AAM eVTOL aircraft. In this timeframe, Wisk anticipates close to 14 million annual flights bringing time savings to over 40 million people across 20 cities – all with zero emissions.

Gary Gysin, CEO of Wisk said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have Boeing as not only an investor but a strategic partner, which provides us with access to a breadth of resources, industry-leading expertise, a global reach, extensive certification experience, and more. As we enter this next stage of our growth, this additional funding provides us with capital while allowing us to remain focused on our core business and our number one priority, safety.”

Wisk began in 2010 as Zee Aero, with a mission to deliver safe, everyday flight for everyone, and later merged with Kitty Hawk Corporation. Upon recognizing the commercial potential of Wisk’s 5th generation aircraft, the aircraft and team were spun out to form Wisk, with an investment from The Boeing Company. Over the past decade, said Wisk, the company has achieved a number of aviation and industry firsts, including the first flight of an all-electric, autonomous eVTOL aircraft designed for passenger use in the U.S.

Previous undisclosed funding rounds were led by The Boeing Company and Kitty Hawk Corporation, through a joint venture, making Wisk one of the only AAM companies to be backed by two aviation leaders. Kitty Hawk remains an investor and has supported the development of Wisk’s previous generations of aircraft.