Atoms and Joby Team Up to Build Out America's Vertiport Network
Flying taxis are getting closer to reality everyday, and now the companies behind them are tackling the next big question: where are these things actually going to land?
Atoms, the industrial AI and infrastructure company founded by Travis Kalanick, just announced a strategic partnership with Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) to acquire and develop vertiport sites across the U.S. The two companies will start in Florida, New York, and Texas, the states where Joby is gearing up for early operations under the White House backed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. California is also on the list.
Why This Matters Now
Joby's electric air taxi is inching closer to commercial reality. The company has already flown its first FAA conforming aircraft and is in the final stretch of FAA type certification. It has also completed piloted test flights in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, proving the aircraft can operate in real urban environments.
But here's the thing: having a working aircraft is only half the equation. Once these air taxis are cleared to fly commercially, they'll need somewhere to land, charge, and drop off passengers who then need to get to their final destination. That ground infrastructure piece, done quickly, in the right spots, and at scale, is shaping up to be the real bottleneck for turning electric flight into an everyday transportation option.
What Atoms Brings to the Table
Atoms Real Estate specializes in building complex, power hungry infrastructure for cities, using in house architects, engineers, and construction teams. Under this partnership, Atoms will design and develop vertiports as full blown transportation hubs, not just landing pads. Think spots where electric aircraft, autonomous vehicles, and ridesharing all connect, plus space for aircraft servicing and last mile transportation.
Travis Kalanick, founder and CEO of Atoms, put it this way: "Smart cities require innovative real estate and infrastructure development. As new transport modes and smart city services become available, designing and deploying a new asset class to support them is critical. We're focused on serving city stakeholders with inspired, efficient buildouts that deliver great experiences for residents and communities alike."
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, echoed that sentiment, noting that urban planning can take a decade or more to get right, and that making electric flight part of daily life depends on building a new kind of transportation hub, one that links aircraft, ground transport, and the communities around them. He called Atoms a natural partner given its track record combining technology, operations, and customer experience in ambitious infrastructure projects.
The Bigger Picture
This partnership is a signal that the eVTOL industry is moving past the "can we build the aircraft" phase and into the "how do we actually deploy this at scale" phase. Vertiports are the missing piece, and whoever solves that puzzle first has a real shot at defining what urban air mobility looks like in American cities.
About Atoms
Atoms is an industrial AI and smart city infrastructure company building the machines and infrastructure that power major industries. Founded by Travis Kalanick, Atoms operates across food, mining, and transport through businesses including CloudKitchens, Otter, Picnic, Lab37, ProFood, and Pronto. Learn more at atoms.co.
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