Regent Craft has raised $60m in Series A funding for the development of its all-electric seaglider, which is due to begin a full-scale prototype build and test program with crewed flight in 2024.
The funding round brings the company’s total funding to date to $90m and keeps the company on track to certify, manufacture and deliver its seagliders to customers by mid-decade.
“There are extraordinarily few companies today with battery powered vehicles that can fly human crew, and Regent is about to join those ranks,” said Billy Thalheimer, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “Seagliders will be the first electric flying machine to be economically viable, and I’m willing to bet, the first one that the majority of the world will take a ride in.”
Seagliders are a new mode of transportation that enables fast, affordable, zero-emission travel along coastal routes. Coupling advanced technologies from hydro-foiling watercraft and electric aviation, seagliders operate like a boat at docks and in harbours, take off from wave-tolerant hydrofoils, and fly within one wingspan of the surface over open water. They reach cruise speeds up to 180 mph while traveling up to 180 miles on a single charge.
Regent’s flagship seaglider, Viceroy, will carry 12 passengers up to 180 miles with existing battery technology, while its vision product, Monarch, will carry 100 passengers on routes up to 500 miles.
Regent has secured a commercial order book for over 500 seagliders representing more than $8bn from global airline and ferry customers including Mesa Airlines, Brittany Ferries and FRS, showing the multi-sector excitement for the sustainable mobility product.
The company recently announced that Southern Airways will take delivery of the first production Viceroy, which will operate under their Mokulele Airlines brand. In addition to passenger travel, seagliders support multiple mission sets such as cargo transport, search and rescue, offshore logistics, and defense applications, which further expand the company’s customer base and market opportunities.
Image: The Viceroy 12-passenger seaglider from Regent Craft
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