Atoms and Joby Aviation have announced a strategic partnership to acquire and develop vertiport sites across the United States. The companies will initially focus on Florida, New York and Texas, where Joby is preparing to launch early operations under the White House-backed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), as well as California.
Joby’s aircraft is approaching commercial readiness, with the company having flown its first FAA-conforming aircraft and entered the final stage of FAA type certification. Piloted flights across the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City have also demonstrated the aircraft’s operational capability.
As air taxis progress from certification toward early operations, the companies said ground infrastructure will become increasingly important. Aircraft will require locations to land and charge, while passengers will need connections to the remainder of their journeys. The partnership will focus on developing infrastructure rapidly and at scale in locations intended to support electric air taxi operations.
“Smart cities require innovative real estate and infrastructure development,” said Travis Kalanick, Founder and CEO of Atoms. “As new transport modes and smart city services become available, designing and deploying a new asset class to support them is critical. We’re focused on serving city stakeholders with inspired, efficient buildouts that deliver great experiences for residents and communities alike.”
Atoms Real Estate develops infrastructure for cities involving power-intensive and complex deployments through its in-house architecture, engineering, technology and construction teams.
Under the partnership, Atoms will develop vertiports as next-generation transportation hubs where electric aircraft, autonomous ground vehicles and ridesharing services can converge. The planned hubs will support passenger connections, aircraft servicing and last-mile ground transportation.
“Thoughtful urban planning can take a decade or more, and making electric flight part of everyday life will require a new generation of transportation hubs connecting aircraft, ground transportation, and communities,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation.
“As air taxis move closer to early commercial service in the U.S., the right infrastructure becomes increasingly important, not just where aircraft land and charge, but how cities embrace this new form of transportation. Atoms has a vision of building ambitious infrastructure projects that combine technology, operations, and customer experience, making them a natural partner for Joby,” Bevirt added.
