The Robot Lecture Hall learned that the rookie in the field of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft "Lanyi Airlines" recently announced the successful completion of angel+ round of financing. This round of financing was led by Shenzhen Lihe Venture Capital, followed by Hefei Baohe Angel Fund. The total amount of financing is about tens of millions of yuan, which will be mainly used to promote the research and development of the full-scale engineering prototype of the passenger eVTOL LE200 and the airworthiness certification of the medium-sized electric unmanned logistics aircraft LEU100. It is worth mentioning that with the successful completion of this round of angel+ round of financing, "Lanyi Airlines" will officially close the angel round of financing stage and start a new round of Pre-A round of financing to further accelerate the company's development strategy and product implementation process.
Founded in May 2023, Lanyi Aviation [full name: Hefei Lanyi Aviation Technology Co., Ltd.] is an innovative enterprise focusing on the development of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). The company's core business includes the R&D, design, and manufacturing of passenger-grade eVTOL technology, as well as maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) services. With industry-leading professional technical team, advanced product design, efficient R&D progress, and leading position in the commercialization process, Lanyi Aviation is committed to promoting the development and application of eVTOL technology.
In terms of the core team, Lanyi Aviation has brought together a group of senior aviation experts from the ARJ21 and C919 China commercial large aircraft R&D system, who not only have excellent overall R&D technical capabilities for civil aircraft, but also have profound experience in design and certification. The company's founder and CEO, Dang Tiehong, was the former CTO of Volant, he has nearly 26 years of commercial aviation experience, 21 years of work experience in COMAC, and is a senior aircraft integration expert.
In terms of product development and business development, Lanyi Aviation has achieved an astonishing speed in product development, and has completed the conversion flight of the eVTOL scale-down verification aircraft only four months after the establishment of the company. At present, Lanyi Aviation is focusing on the development of two products. The first product is the passenger eVTOL, named LE200, which is designed to carry up to 5 passengers, with a cruising speed of up to 200 km/h and a basic range of 200 km. It is worth mentioning that the LE200 scale-down verification machine has been developed and flown in September 2023, and the research and development of the full-scale engineering prototype is currently being fully promoted. It is expected that the product will obtain the airworthiness type certificate by the end of 2027 and is scheduled to be delivered to the market in 2028.
The second product is a medium-sized electric vertical take-off and landing logistics drone, named LEU100, which can carry a maximum commercial load of 55 kg and a maximum range of 200 km. It is gratifying to note that the application for the airworthiness type certificate for LEU100 has been accepted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in August 2024, and the product is expected to complete the airworthiness certification in 2025 and is scheduled to enter the market in 2026.
According to the company's investigation, before that, Lanyi Airlines has carried out a total of 2 rounds of financing, and has won the favor and support of well-known enterprises and investment institutions such as Dening Capital, Hefei Binhu Financial Investment, and Blue Ocean Huateng.