Joby Aviation to buy Blade Air Mobility’s ride-share business

Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation has agreed to buy Blade Air Mobility’s helicopter ride-share business for as much as $125 million.

Joby is buying the Blade brand and the company’s passenger business, which includes operations in the United States and Europe. Blade founder and CEO Rob Wiesenthal will continue to lead the business, which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Joby.

Blade’s medical division, which transports organs, isn’t included in the transaction and will remain a separate company.

The deal gives Joby instant access to a network of 12 terminals in key markets like New York City — notably, a dedicated lounge as well as terminal bases at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty Airport, the West Side of Manhattan, the East Side of Manhattan, and Wall Street.

Blade, founded in 2014, doesn’t own a fleet of aircraft. Instead, the company has developed a digital network that allows passengers to book private rides on helicopters across several short-hop routes. The service has grown in popularity as well-heeled customers seek out ways to avoid traffic on their commutes from the suburbs into Manhattan, or to The Hamptons for weekends and holidays. The company, which also offers access to routes from Nice, France, to Monaco and Saint-Tropez, flew more than 50,000 passengers in 2024.

Joby Aviation founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt described the deal as a “strategically important” acquisition that will support its launch of its commercial operations in Dubai and subsequent global rollout. The company said it will integrate its software, which is designed to manage air taxi operations, into Blade’s passenger service.

Joby, founded in 2009 by Bevirt, has been working for more than a decade to develop, certify and produce an electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial taxi service in cities. (The company is also pursuing a separate defense-related business.) Eventually, the branded Blade service will use electric air taxis, not helicopters in its service, according to the companies.

Toyota-backed Joby went public in 2021 through a merger with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company backed by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Mark Pincus.

Under terms of the agreement, Joby is holding back $35 million of the purchase price, which will be released if Blade hits certain performance milestones and retains certain key employees.