As it moves closer to the commercial release of its all-electric planes, Denver's Bye Aerospace has brought on an infusion of capital to accelerate the process.
Bye Aerospace announced the completion of a $5 million strategic investment by an unnamed venture capital group earlier this year, quickly bringing on an additional $5 million to close the $10 million raise this week.
"It’s the right airplane, at the right time, with the right technology. Electric is much more broadly accepted as the future," CEO George Bye told Colorado Inno. "It’s gone from skepticism, to begrudged acknowledgment, to enthusiastic participation."
This is the second funding announcement the company has made in recent years, as it completed a major, undisclosed investment by SUBARU-SBI Innovation Fund in 2018.
Bye said the investments have allowed Bye Aerospace to begin work on “Serial #001,” the first production-conforming prototype of its two-seat eFlyer 2 aircraft.
The eFlyer 2 is a two seat all-electric aircraft designed for training flights, specifically aimed at reducing the cost and mirroring technology found in modern aircrafts. Bye Aerospace estimates the eFlyer will eliminate the release of 5 million metric tons of CO2 each year for flight training alone.
To date, the company has received more than 300 paid-purchase deposits for its eFlyer 2 and 4 aircrafts. In just the last month, they received 53 deposits, setting up a production backlog of three years to meet customer demand.
Bye Aerospace recently completed the critical design phase of engineering for its two-person plane and is preparing to go into the first steps of production for certification. Should all the stages of certification go as planned, Bye anticipates delivering the first customer orders of the aircraft in late-2022.
Although Covid-19 has impacted businesses, especially those in the airline industry, Bye Aerospace is forging on with its mission of electric flight.
"Health and safety and the way we do business will forever be altered," Bye said. "With that in mind, we are moving toward the future here and we have a great team to do it."
