Gasgoo Munich-VOLANT completed a C+ financing round on May 27, raising nearly 1 billion yuan. This marks the company's second major funding haul in a month, following a $300 million deal secured in late April.
The round was led by China Life Sci-Tech, with participation from Shanghai Minhang Investment, NIO Capital, Cornerstone Capital, and existing shareholder China Internet Investment Fund. China Renaissance and Cygnus Equity acted as financial advisors, with Cygnus Equity serving as the company's long-term advisor.
Li Yao, a partner at NIO Capital, said the low-altitude economy is now viewed as a pillar industry for the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan. With combined advantages in safety, efficiency, and cost, eVTOLs are poised to become primary beneficiaries of this sector's growth. He added that NIO Capital plans to leverage its resources in the electric smart vehicle sector—specifically powertrain systems and smart cockpits—to drive deep cooperation with VOLANT in R&D and supply chain development.
Image Source: VOLANT
VOLANT founder and CEO Dong Ming stated that the proceeds will primarily fund continued test flights and airworthiness certification. By leveraging an increasingly robust shareholder base to integrate supply chain resources, the company aims to launch compliant commercial operations as soon as possible.
Recently, VOLANT's proprietary VE25-100 commercial passenger eVTOL successfully completed full-aircraft low-speed wind tunnel tests at the AVIC Aerodynamics Research Institute. All indicators met expectations, significantly accelerating the model's flight testing and certification progress. To date, VOLANT has secured over 1,900 global orders—one-third from overseas—with a total value exceeding 47.5 billion yuan. The company has collected nearly 100 million yuan in deposits from clients including leading players such as China Southern Airlines General Aviation, Asian Express Aviation, and ABC Financial Leasing. The first model is scheduled to obtain its Type Certificate (TC) in 2027, marking the transition to large-scale commercial deliveries.
