Vertical Aerospace Secures 50 Valo Aircraft MoU While Shares Drop 33%
Vertical Aerospace secured a MoU for 50 Valo eVTOL aircraft with JetSetGo in India, pre-delivery payments from Marubeni in Japan, government grants in Singapore, and an Evolito propulsion partnership. Despite these deals, shares have fallen 33% over the past month due to dilution concerns and missing flight-test milestone.
1. Global Commercial Partnerships and Grants
Vertical Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding with JetSetGo for 50 Valo eVTOL aircraft in India, received pre-delivery payments from Marubeni in Japan and secured a grant in Singapore to develop emergency medical services capabilities, underscoring global demand for its Valo model across diverse markets.
2. Evolito Propulsion Partnership and Certification De-risking
The company selected Evolito as its electric propulsion unit partner, leveraging Evolito’s UK Civil Aviation Authority Design Organisation Approval to de-risk certification of the Valo’s powertrain and strengthen the technical foundation of its flagship eVTOL aircraft.
3. Share Decline Driven by Capital Structure Changes
Shares have fallen approximately 33% in one month after shareholders approved raising authorized share capital from 200 million to 1 billion shares, signaling likely equity issuance to fund an estimated $700 million certification cost and driving short interest to roughly 20%.
4. Awaiting Critical Flight-Test Milestone
Investors are awaiting completion of the Phase 4 piloted transition flight campaign, originally slated for early 2026; the company now operates two full-scale prototypes simultaneously, but lack of a mission-accomplished update has intensified market uncertainty over program timing.