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Top eVTOL Companies: Who Is Certified, Who Is Flying, Who Is Funded
Top eVTOL companies: the two in the HardwareMap index plus the wider field, with certification status quoted from company filings and dated.
by the HardwareMap editors3 min read
From the HardwareMap index, REV 26.09, refreshed 11 Oct 2026
Contents
The top eVTOL companies in the HardwareMap index number 2 as of REV 26.09: Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, both US-based and NYSE-listed. That is a short list, so this page widens the frame to the wider field, clearly marked. Ranking rule: certification status first, aircraft flying second, disclosed funding third. It sits under the hardware startups index.
The table is live from the index. Every certification claim below is quoted from the company or regulator, with the date it was made. The site records claims; it does not endorse them.
Top eVTOL companies by certification status
Only EHang holds a type certificate, and its aircraft carries no pilot and flies certified sightseeing routes that take off and land at the same site. No eVTOL holds an FAA type certificate as of October 2026.
Who is flying
Joby Aviation (Santa Cruz) reported "five aircraft flying and 12 more in production" in its 5 August 2026 results, and said first flights under the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) were expected in September in Texas, "targeting first passengers in 2026."
Archer Aviation (San Jose) said on 10 August 2026 that it had flown piloted city-to-city Midnight flights in preparation for eIPP operations later in 2026, and that six Midnight aircraft were in production (Archer Q2 2026 results). In the same release Archer announced a deal to acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid units, subject to closing conditions. Wisk is developing an autonomous eVTOL, so the deal folds a third US eVTOL program into Archer.
Flying under a pilot program is not the same as carrying fare-paying passengers under a type certificate. Both companies separate the two in their filings.
Who is funded
Disclosed capital in the index: Joby leads, Archer follows. Both reached the NYSE through SPAC mergers in 2021, so their accounts are public, unlike most hardware startups. Read the cash line next to the certification line. An eVTOL maker spends heavily for years before revenue, and the length of its runway to certification is the main risk.
The failures show what that risk looks like. Volocopter filed for insolvency in December 2024 (Aviation Week). Lilium filed a second time in February 2025 after a rescue round fell through (Aerospace Testing International). Both had flying prototypes. Neither had a type certificate.
Batteries set the range and payload limits for all of these aircraft; the battery startups note covers the cell makers. For other aerospace hardware, see space startups.
The wider field, outside the index
The index lists two eVTOL makers because it lists companies it has catalogued in full, and the field is larger. Three more names matter for anyone tracking certification.
- EHang (Guangzhou) is the only company in this note with a type certificate. Its EH216-S flies without a pilot, which puts it under different Chinese rules from the piloted aircraft Joby and Archer are certifying in the United States.
- BETA Technologies (Vermont) trades as NYSE: BETA, per its investor pages. It is certifying a conventional takeoff aircraft, the CX300, ahead of its A250 eVTOL, a path that shares parts and data between the two.
- Wisk (Mountain View) is the autonomous eVTOL program Archer agreed to buy from Boeing in August 2026.
Each is a candidate for a future REV. Until then their figures come from their own releases, linked above.
How we rank top eVTOL companies
- Certification. A type certificate from a national aviation authority outranks everything else.
- Aircraft flying. Conforming or production aircraft in the air, as reported by the company.
- Disclosed funding. Equity raised, disclosed rounds only.
eVTOL makers are not drone companies in the index: they carry passengers and certify as aircraft. Drone makers are on drone companies, and listed eVTOL names sit beside drone stocks on publicly traded drone companies.
The next REV updates certification status and stages here first.
Frequently asked questions
Has any eVTOL company been certified?
In China, yes. EHang received a CAAC type certificate for its pilotless EH216-S on 13 October 2023, and its operators received air operator certificates on 28 March 2025 for sightseeing flights. In the United States, no eVTOL holds an FAA type certificate as of October 2026. Joby and Archer both report that they are in the final phase of the FAA process.
Which eVTOL companies are in the HardwareMap index?
Two: Joby Aviation in Santa Cruz and Archer Aviation in San Jose, both filed under mobility and both listed on the NYSE. The index catalogues startups with a product, a public source and an operating team. Other eVTOL makers named on this page are listed for context with sources, not as index entries, and their figures come from their own filings.
When will air taxis carry paying passengers in the US?
The companies say soon, and the dates have moved before. Joby said in August 2026 that first flights under the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program were expected in September in Texas, targeting first passengers in 2026. Archer said it expects operations under the same program later in 2026. Those are company claims; FAA type certification is a separate milestone.
Which eVTOL companies have failed?
Two well-funded German makers went insolvent within months of each other. Volocopter filed for insolvency in December 2024. Lilium filed a second time in February 2025 after a rescue financing collapsed. Both had flown prototypes and neither had carried paying passengers. Their history is the reason this page quotes every certification claim with a source and a date.
Why do Joby and Archer describe certification in different numbers of stages?
They count the same FAA type certification process differently. Joby describes five stages and says it is in the fifth. Archer describes four phases and says it closed the third in 2026. The final stage for both is formal testing and analysis to show compliance, including flight tests credited by FAA pilots. Read the percentage figures each company publishes, not the stage number.
HardwareMap records eVTOL claims with their dates. Open Joby or Archer above for the full datasheet.
The index
All 219 startups, filterable by category, hub, stage and funding.