A.L.I. Technologies Aims for Public Offering

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — A.L.I. Technologies, maker of the headline-capturing XTurismo Limited Edition hoverbike, is aiming to go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the relatively near future, according to interviews conducted by Bloomberg.

Should it do so, A.L.I. Technologies would become the first Japanese eVTOL startup to take this step.

The firm is already to first eVTOL maker in Japan to offer a flying vehicle for sale to the public, although customer deliveries are not expected to begin until around the end of this year, according to the latest information.

The Bloomberg article revealed one additional nugget of new information, which is that A.L.I. Technologies President Daisuke Katano sees “strong interest” in the hoverbike from Arab nations.

“The need for these bikes will be higher in places with desert or other difficult terrain,” Kitano was quoted as saying.

This assertion stands to reason, not only because the sandy, empty terrain of the Arabian desert might be ideal for hoverbike flights, but also because there is a concentration of wealthy individuals who might actually be able to afford the ¥77.7 million (US$620,000) price tag for what is, after all, only an expensive toy at this juncture in the industry’s development.

Among the current investors in A.L.I. Technologies are Kyocera Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Nagoya Railroad Company, Nakanihon Air Service, and Sega Sammy Holdings.