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§ Private Profile · Gauting, Germany
Lilium is a technology company.
Lilium develops electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jets designed for sustainable, high-speed regional air mobility. Its core product, the Lilium Jet, is an all-electric aircraft engineered for zero operating emissions, quiet vertical take-off, and substantial payload capacity. The company focuses on a unique jet architecture to enable efficient flight for connecting regions, aiming to offer a new form of rapid transportation.
The company was established in 2015 by co-founders Daniel Wiegand, Sebastian Born, Matthias Meiner, and Patrick Nathen. The four, while students at the Technical University of Munich, shared a foundational belief in the potential of electric flight to radically transform personal and regional travel. Their insight centered on creating an aircraft capable of high-speed inter-city connections without the need for extensive runway infrastructure.
Lilium targets regional air mobility markets, collaborating with industry partners and governments to integrate its jets into existing and future transportation networks. The company’s long-term vision is to enable accessible, high-speed regional connections, thereby creating a sustainable network that reduces travel times and environmental impact across various regions globally. This forward-looking approach positions Lilium as a key player in the evolution of air travel.
Lilium has raised $1.5B across 10 funding rounds.
Key people at Lilium.
Lilium was founded in 2015 by Patrick Nathen (Co-Founder / Head of Calculation & Design).
Lilium has raised $1.5B in total across 10 funding rounds.
Lilium is a German aerospace company developing the Lilium Jet, the world's first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet for high-speed regional air mobility with zero operating emissions.[1][2][7] It builds a seven-seat (production version) aircraft powered by 36 ducted electric fans embedded in tilting flaps on canards and main wings, serving urban air mobility operators, airlines, and corporate clients like NetJets, Azul, and ASL Group for intercity trips up to 300 km at speeds of 280-300 km/h.[3][4][6] The jet solves urban congestion and emissions in air travel by enabling five-times-faster travel than cars (e.g., Paris to London), with superior cruise efficiency, the largest eVTOL cabin (3 meters), and a separated pilot cockpit for safety.[1][2][5] Growth momentum includes prototype flights since 2017, full wing transition tests in 2022, a smart factory for serial production, dual EASA/FAA certification pursuit, a $3.3 billion SPAC merger (NASDAQ: LILM), and over $1 billion in orders.[3][5][6][7]
Lilium was co-founded in 2015 in Munich, Germany, by four aerospace engineers and product designers—Daniel Wiegand, Sebastian Born, Patrick Nathen, and one other—from university backgrounds, with Wiegand conceiving the core eVTOL jet concept in 2013.[3][5] The idea emerged from innovating beyond propeller-based designs for efficient forward-flight jets using ducted fans in wings, leading to sub-scale prototypes (Gleiter, Hexa, Dragon, Falcon) and a full-scale unmanned Eagle demonstrator that flew in 2017.[3] Pivotal moments include the five-seat model's first flight in 2019 (100+ flights with transitions to 100 km/h), Phoenix 2's full hover-to-wing-borne transition at 130 km/h in 2022, EIT investment for commercialization, and the 2021 SPAC going public to fund seven-seat production.[1][3][5][6]
Lilium rides the eVTOL and advanced air mobility (AAM) trend, targeting decarbonized regional transport amid urbanization, CO2 reduction mandates, and helicopter inefficiencies.[1][5][7] Timing aligns with maturing battery tech (e.g., Ionblox investment for high-density cells) and regulatory progress via EASA/FAA, positioning it ahead of 2026 service entry despite delays from 2025 targets.[4][5][6] Market forces like $1B+ orders, vertiport networks (e.g., Florida), and SPAC funding favor Lilium's jet design for intercity routes over short-hop drones, influencing ecosystems through supply chain innovations, European leadership, and scaling production to rival traditional aviation.[3][6]
Lilium eyes 2026 commercial entry-into-service with type certification, ramping serial production at its expanded smart factory and launching vertiport-integrated networks for regional routes.[5][6][7] Trends like denser batteries, AI flight controls, and AAM infrastructure will accelerate adoption, though supply chain risks and certification hurdles could delay timelines. Its influence may evolve from pioneer to scale operator, redefining emissions-free air travel and pressuring rivals with jet efficiency—potentially fulfilling the promise of revolutionizing urban-to-regional mobility that began with four students' 2013 sketch.[1][5]
Lilium was founded in 2015 by Patrick Nathen (Co-Founder / Head of Calculation & Design).
Lilium has raised $1.5B in total across 10 funding rounds.
Lilium's investors include Ambitious Air Mobility Group, Yorkville Advisors, Frank Thelen, BIT Capital, Hendrik Brandis, Tencent, Aceville, Adam Grant, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Klaus Roewe, Aciturri.
Key people at Lilium.
Lilium has raised $1.5B across 10 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $291.2M Other Equity in August 2025.