BusinessFlying-car company Kittyhawk, backed by Google co-founder Larry Page,...

Flying-car company Kittyhawk, backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, will shut down



Kittyhawk, the air-taxi company backed by billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page, will be closing down, dealing a setback to the long-elusive dream of developing flying cars. 

โ€œWe have made the decision to wind down Kittyhawk,โ€ the company said on Twitter. โ€œWeโ€™re still working on the details of whatโ€™s next.โ€

The companyโ€™s technology is expected to live on in the form of its Wisk Aero joint venture with Boeing Co. Wiskโ€™s operations wonโ€™t be affected by Kittyhawkโ€™s shutdown, Boeing said on Wednesday.

Kittyhawk was founded in 2010 to pioneer the market for so-called eVTOLs โ€” electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft โ€” with the lofty goal of democratizing the skies. The secretive company was run by Sebastian Thrun, a Google veteran who worked on self-driving cars, augmented-reality glasses and other projects.

The business was one of several startups working on the concept, which has proven to be a greater challenge than some expected. Air taxis have suffered crashes during testing in recent months, raising concerns about their safety.

Insider previously reported on Kittyhawkโ€™s plans to close.

Kittyhawk formed its Wisk venture with Boeing Co. in 2019, and the airplane manufacturer went on to invest $450 million in the partnership. Earlier this week, Boeing and Wisk presented their vision for a world where eVTOLs can coexist with larger commercial aircraft.

โ€œKittyhawkโ€™s decision to cease operations does not change Boeingโ€™s commitment to Wisk,โ€ a spokeswoman for the plane manufacturer said in an email. โ€œWe are proud to be a founding member of Wisk Aero and are excited to see the work they are doing to drive innovation and sustainability through the future of electric air travel.โ€

The aviation titan helped showcase Wiskโ€™s rotor-powered Cora aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow in July. Along with financing the business, Boeing has been providing engineering resources for a larger, electric four-seater aircraft that Wisk intends to eventually certify with US regulators. 

The air-taxi market still has numerous competitors, including Joby Aviation Inc., Archer Aviation Inc., Germanyโ€™s Lilium NV and Brazilโ€™s Eve, but they face uncertain prospects for these futuristic vehicles. Aviation regulators havenโ€™t yet certified the new generation of flying machines to transport humans.

Kittyhawkโ€™s goal was to make an air taxi that could be remotely piloted, was smaller and lighter than other eVTOLs, and could take off from nearly anywhere. The company was targeting a cost of less than $1 a mile, which would have made the taxis cheaper than ride-sharing services.

Now Kittyhawkโ€™s shutdown closes a chapter for one of the highest-profile eVTOL pioneers โ€” and shows how hard the market is to crack. As of Wednesday, the company still had this message on its home page: โ€œIf anyone can do this, we can.โ€

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