Uber Technologies Inc is selling off its flying taxi division to Joby Aviation Inc and investing in the start-up, marking the second time this week that Uber abandoned a side project as it aims to turn a quarterly profit next year.
Joby is to acquire Uber Elevate, the company’s division that imagined a future where air taxis shuttled people above traffic-jammed highways. Uber Elevate also operated a helicopter service in New York City, but it suspended flights during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the deal, Uber is investing US$75 million in Joby, after a previously undisclosed investment of US$50 million in the start-up in January.
The deal follows the playbook Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has used this year to shed multiple divisions as the company turns away from its science fiction-type ambitions and focuses on trying to make money.
In May, Uber led an investment round of US$170 million in the scooter rental operator Lime, and gave the company its Jump bike-sharing business.
Earlier this week, Uber sold off its self-driving vehicle division to Aurora Innovation Inc and invested US$400 million in the start-up.
Uber’s deal with Joby brings the total money raised by the firm to US$820 million. Joby was earlier this year valued by investors at US$2.6 billion, according to PitchBook data.
Joby said that it intends to operate its electric flying taxis as soon as 2023 and that the two companies would integrate their services into each other’s apps.
Uber Elevate has fewer than 100 employees, Uber said.
“We’re excited for their transformational mobility solution to become available to the millions of customers who rely on our platform,” Khosrowshahi said in a statement about the Joby deal.
California-based Joby’s backers include Toyota Motor Corp, which invested US$394 million in the start-up earlier this year, Capricorn Investment Group, and the venture capital arms of JetBlue Airways Corp and Intel Corp.
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