Lilium, which was developing a flying taxi capable of vertical takeoff and landing, has ceased operations. As TechCrunch notes, German media Gründerszene first reported that the company had laid off 1,000 employees a few days ago after failing to secure further funding to continue developing its technology. Patrick Nathen, the company’s co-founder, announced that the company has ceased all operations at LinkedIn. He said he could no longer continue to work with his co-founders on their “shared belief in greener aviation,” at least under Lilium.
The German company has been testing VTOL electric air taxis for some time. The company’s vehicle first flew in 2017 and completed the first phase of flight testing in 2019. Lilium was able to prove that its VTOL air taxi can fly at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour. However, the Lilium jet prototype unveiled in 2019 was supposed to be able to fly at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour and have a range of 300 kilometers.
Lilium has struggled financially over the past year, but the company’s CEO was reportedly optimistic that it would have enough funding as of last month. Gründerzene said a small number of people will continue to be employed to assist with the liquidation. The company has not yet announced what will happen to its technology or remaining assets, but patent attorney Fabian Muller said in a post that he is managing the transition of Lilium’s intellectual property.
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