eVTOL company Joby Aviation has acquired Avionyx, an established aerospace software engineering firm, to help speed up its aircraft certification.
Joby, whose five-seat electric aircraft has yet to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, should be able to “scale resources rapidly” thanks to the new acquisition.
The financial particulars of the deal haven’t been disclosed but Joby has said that Avionyx will become a wholly-owned subsidiary with resources to expand its own team.
Software verification is an important element of commercial aircraft certification, requiring engineers to review, analyze, and test the software deployed across the aircraft according to FAA regulations and standards.
Avionyx, which was founded in 1989 and has been working with Joby since last year, has extensive experience performing software verification services to both FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency standards.
“Acquiring Avionyx puts us in an excellent position to meet the regulatory requirements necessary for us to bring the Joby aircraft to market,” said Tom Ferrell, Development Assurance Lead at Joby.
“Having worked alongside Avionyx for the last year, I’m continuously impressed by the wealth of experience they bring to our software verification activities.”
Using its vehicle software integration lab at Joby’s facility in Marina, CA, the company will leverage flight simulation and hardware emulation capabilities to rapidly conduct thousands of pre-programmed tests necessary to validate and verify the performance of various aircraft software systems. A similar facility will be set up in San Jose, Costa Rica, to accelerate software verification efforts.
“For more than 30 years, Avionyx has been privileged to work closely with a number of aerospace companies to bring innovative aircraft to market with increasingly vital software systems,” said Larry Allgood, CEO of Avionyx.
“Joby’s aircraft is one of the most transformative projects that I have seen during my career, and our team is excited to play a part in making it a reality.”
Joby’s piloted eVTOL aircraft can carry four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, with a maximum range of 150 miles on a single charge and the company expects to launch its aerial ridesharing service in 2024.
