Lilium was once a promising 'air taxi' startup worth billions. Now it's on the brink of insolvency

German aerospace startup Lilium faces insolvency if it doesn't rise exigency backing from the authorities authorities for the southeastern authorities of Bavaria.

Insolvency would people a melodramatic autumn for a startup erstwhile touted arsenic Europe's champion accidental astatine gathering the 21st-century equivalent of "cars" that tin fly.

Lilium is 1 of a bid of firms trying to physique "eVTOLs," oregon electrical vertical take-off and landing, vehicles.

Popularly known arsenic flying cars oregon aerial taxis, these vehicles are being developed by startups successful the United States, Europe and Asia.

Today, however, Lilium is successful trouble. The institution is desperately trying to rise payer funds successful Germany. And truthful far, it's been unsuccessful.

The steadfast had requested 50 cardinal euros ($54 million) of loans from the national government. However, its petition was rejected by German lawmakers.

In a regulatory filing released past week, Lilium said it had "received denotation that the fund committee of the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany volition not o.k. a €50 cardinal warrant of a contemplated €100 cardinal convertible loan."

The projected authorities assistance would person been issued by KfW, the German state-owned improvement bank.

Lilium is "continuing discussions with the Free State of Bavaria with respect to a warrant of astatine slightest €50 million," Lilium added successful its filing.

A Lilium spokesperson told CNBC the institution doesn't program to remark further beyond the connection outlined successful its 6K filing.

In effect to Germany's determination to contradict Lilium authorities aid, Hubert Aiwanger, Bavaria's system minister, criticized the move, saying it was "regrettable" that the national authorities opted not to enactment the firm.

"Flying cars" possibly isn't the close term. But what Lilium was yet trying to bring to the satellite was a vertical take-off and landing craft that could alert radical from 1 metropolis to different to easiness congestion connected the roads.

The institution initially wanted to rotation retired its ain integer "hailing" work that would person seen users bid rides connected its jets from designated areas wherever it would beryllium imaginable for the conveyance to instrumentality disconnected and land.

Lilium subsequently decided to alteration its concern model.

Rather than make the full work connected its own, the institution opted to spouse up with airlines and airdrome operators, which would physique retired the work merchandise and infrastructure needed to powerfulness its ambitions.

Lilium's jets tin outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $9 million. The institution besides had a six-seater mentation successful development, which would person acceptable a purchaser backmost astir $7 million.

Lilium struck large deals with the likes of Lufthansa successful Germany and Saudia successful Saudi Arabia. It besides agreed a tie-up with Groupe ADP, an planetary airdrome relation based successful Paris.

Founded by 4 assemblage students successful 2015, Lilium rapidly gained a estimation arsenic 1 of Europe's best-funded aerial taxi firms.

The institution managed to rise hundreds of millions of dollars from investors including China's Tencent, Atomico and Earlybird.

In September 2021, Lilium went nationalist connected the Nasdaq via a merger with a peculiar intent acquisition institution called SPAC Qell.

At its height, Lilium was worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $3.3 billion. Its shares person tanked to little than 50 cents — a much than 95% plunge from its banal marketplace debut.

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