Lilium, a German flying taxi start-up, has raised $240 million from existing investors led by Chinese technology group Tencent to fund the next stage of its growth. The funds will be used to prepare for the large-scale production of a five-seater electric aircraft, powered by 36 fans, that Lilium intends to use to run a city-to-city taxi service from 2025. The $240 million falls short of the $500 million Lilium was reported to be seeking last autumn, when it was also expected to bring in new investors. But high-profile problems at tech groups such as WeWork, and the extremely uncertain investment climate as the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, have made fundraising more challenging for start-ups… Including the most recent funding, Lilium has raised $340 million since the company was founded by four engineers in 2015. The latest round gives the company a valuation of between $750 million and $1 billion… Lilium aims to build fleets of aircraft and operate an on-demand air taxi service between regional cities. It is tapping into a market that has attracted investment from companies such as Uber, Airbus and Boeing, and is predicted by Morgan Stanley to reach about $1.5 trillion a year by 2040.?

Peggy Hollinger,?