Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) opened slightly lower on Thursday after the company announced that it has secured approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its proprietary software suite, "ElevateOS." The software is intended to optimize air taxi operations.
What Happened: At the time of writing, Joby was trading -1.42% lower at $4.929, according to Benzinga Pro.
As per the company's announcement on Thursday, ElevateOS encompasses pilot tools, operations and schedule management software, a mobile-first rider app, and an intelligent matching engine. This engine, similar to those employed by ride-hailing apps, connects passengers with available aircraft and landing infrastructure for seamless journeys. Joby Aviation intends to utilize ElevateOS for its air taxi operations and make it available to select partners who purchase their aircraft.
The company is set to unveil the ElevateOS operating system during a virtual presentation later today. The event will also highlight other measures Joby is taking to facilitate the commencement of commercial air taxi operations as early as 2025. This includes pilot training and simulating its planned air taxi service using a conventional aircraft that carries the same number of passengers as Joby's aircraft.
Joby has already tested key aspects of its planned operations using the ElevateOS software, courtesy of a Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate granted by the FAA over two years ago. The tests included offering on-demand passenger service to Joby team members, matching passengers with similar routes, accepting payments for whole-aircraft chartered flights, and integrating the use of the Joby pilot app, rider app and back-end operational software.
The company has been actively developing and testing these software tools in-house since acquiring Uber Elevate, Uber's air taxi division, in 2021.
Why It Matters: Joby Aviation's vision of a futuristic commute, flying from downtown Manhattan to JFK Airport in under seven minutes, is inching closer to reality. With $400 million backing from Toyota Motor Corporation and $60 million from Delta Air Lines, Inc., Joby aims to pioneer the launch of air taxis, or eVTOLs, to market. The FAA's approval of ElevateOS is a crucial step towards this goal.
Despite mixed results in the fourth quarter of 2023, the company remains focused on its 2024 commercialization plans.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari