Lilium, a company working on flying taxis that can take off and land vertically, has ceased operations. As TechCrunch notes, german media Founder scene was the first publication to report that it laid off 1,000 workers a few days ago after failing to secure more funding to continue developing its technology. Patrick Nathen, co-founder of the company, has announced that the company has stopped all operations on LinkedIn. Tagging his co-founders, he said they can no longer continue working on their “shared belief in greener aviation,” at least under Lilium.
The German company has been testing its VTOL electric air taxis for some time. Its vehicle first took off for its maiden flight in 2017 and completed its first phase of flight testing in 2019. Lilium was able to demonstrate that its VTOL air taxis are capable of flying at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour. , although the Lily Jet prototype The model presented in 2019 was supposed to be able to reach a speed of up to 300 km/h and a range of 300 kilometers.
Lilium has had financial difficulties over the past year, but its CEO reportedly remained optimistic about being able to get enough funding as recently as last month. Founder scene He said a small number of people will remain employed to help with the liquidation. The company has not yet announced what will happen to its technology and the rest of its assets, but its patent attorney, Fabien Müller, wrote in a post that he is managing the transition of Lilium's intellectual property.
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