Joby, Metropolis Announce Partnership to Develop 25 Vertiports Across the U.S.

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced a partnership with Metropolis Technologies, Inc., a leader in applied AI for the real world, to develop 25 vertiports across the United States utilizing Metropolis’ extensive network of parking locations. The partnership will incorporate Metropolis’ AI-based recognition technology, as well the company’s extensive footprint across aviation and baggage services.

Following its $1.5 billion acquisition of SP+, and $1.6 billion Series D financing, Metropolis is the largest parking network and operator in North America, operating more than 4,200 parking locations, as well as aviation services in over 350 locations. The planned vertiports will be strategically selected across Metropolis’ portfolio in early electric air taxi markets and use Metropolis’ computer vision technology; the companies will be evaluating both new and existing facilities for the integration of vertiports.

“For air taxis to deliver on their promise of seamless urban travel, they must connect directly with the existing ground transportation ecosystem,” said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO and founder of Joby. “By leveraging existing parking infrastructure to create mobility hubs, we can deliver on our vision of seamless connectivity for our customers and also maximize the value of those sites without needing to build infrastructure from scratch.”

The companies plan to leverage Metropolis’ world-class technology, including biometrics, broader computer vision and services like baggage handling, to accelerate Joby’s efforts to integrate its air taxi service directly into existing ground transportation hubs and deploy compact, high-throughput vertiport designs that satisfy safety and regulatory standards. Under its Bags Inc. subsidiary, Metropolis will initially bring its Bags VIP service to Joby’s Blade Urban Air Mobility, which provides flights between Manhattan and JFK or Newark airports in five minutes, bypassing up to two hours of traffic and eliminating common airport pain points. By providing baggage handling to Blade passengers in the New York City area, this partnership will remove friction and allow more people to take advantage of Blade’s service without needing to worry about luggage requirements. Metropolis already operates parking, advanced luggage logistics, remote check-in and in-terminal guest services that streamline the traveler experience across more than 350 airports in North America.

Metropolis CEO, Alex Israel, commented on the partnership, “The real world is the next frontier for AI, and our partnership with Joby marks a critical first step in expanding the Metropolis platform into true mobility hubs to deliver remarkable value for Members and partners alike. This transformational partnership is the very definition of Applied AI in the physical world. We are taking the data and recognition capabilities we've built in our network and extending it to air travel, creating the seamless, personalized, and magical experience that is the foundation of the Recognition Economy.”