American company AIbotspecializing in advanced aerial mobility (AAM) solutions, has received a $15 million grant to advance the development of manned and unmanned aircraft aiEVTOLpowered by artificial intelligence.
Financial aid it supports California Governor’s Office of Economic and Business Development (GO-biz)was awarded through the program California competeswhich aims to promote job creation and economic development by supporting innovative initiatives.
Subsidies for employment and capital investment
The grant is a testament to the role Aibot plays in the AAM space both locally and nationally. The company will use the proceeds to create nearly 700 new jobs and centralize its operations in the regions Long beach and Mojave. The decision will improve the group’s research and development capabilities and enable it to conduct various flight and production tests, accelerating the development of advanced AI-defined software for its autonomous electric aircraft.
According to the company’s founder and executive president, Jerry Wang“The grant will allow Aibot to move its flight testing and manufacturing to California while accelerating production of the first aiEVTOlincluding local investment in the construction of production facilities and the creation of numerous employment opportunities.”
Research and development acceleration program
In 2023, GO-biz received applications to participate in CalCompetes with a total value of 1.8 billion dollars, which is an exorbitant number considering that the project has a budget of 120 million and there can be only 8 successful applicants. From the group of companies that this year the grant acquired, two of them are vertical takeoff and landing aircraft manufacturers, underscoring California’s commitment to this technology, innovation and sustainability.
Chief Advisor to the Director of the Development Office, Dee Dee Myers stated that “advanced air mobility is an industry of the future in which California wants to continue to be a leader.” For his part, the representative of the 69th district California State Assembly, Josh Lowenthalassured that “the selection of Aiboto for the CalCompetes grant is a loud vote of confidence in its innovative approach and cutting-edge technology, whose future is perfectly aligned with the economic and environmental goals of the territory.”