Joby Aviation agrees $500M Resonant Sciences acquisition
Joby Aviation has agreed to acquire Ohio-based Resonant Sciences for $500 million in cash and stock, a transaction that will establish a dedicated defense business within the electric air-taxi developer. Resonant, a maker of radio-frequency and sensor systems, reported $100 million in trailing 12-month revenue and has access to classified US government programs.
Resonant co-founder and chief executive J. Micah North will lead the new division. It will absorb Joby’s existing defense projects, including work on turbine-electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft and the company’s autonomy technology stack.
A separate unit for defense programs
Joby said the new structure will allow its remaining operations to focus on certifying, manufacturing and launching its electric air taxi. The California-based company is developing the S4 as an all-electric aircraft intended to move people and goods over short urban distances.
The acquisition deepens a defense effort that has become more visible over the past two years. Last year, Joby signed an agreement with L3Harris Technologies to explore a new class of aircraft for defense applications: an autonomously operated, gas-turbine hybrid vertical take-off and landing aircraft based on the current S4 platform.
Hybrid aircraft and sensing technology
Joby demonstrated a hydrogen-electric hybrid version of its aircraft under a government contract in 2024. The aircraft flew 521 miles, a distance more than twice that of its battery-electric prototype. Resonant’s radio-frequency and sensing technologies complement Joby’s electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft activities.
The acquisition also supplies a revenue-generating business while Joby pursues the costly, multi-year work of certifying and mass-producing eVTOL aircraft. In the wider autonomous-mobility market, autonomous vehicle deployment and operating rules highlights how vehicle deployment is shaped by both technology and operating rules, while Joby is separating its defense activity from its commercial air-taxi programme.
Revenue alongside aircraft development
Joby has used acquisitions before to add nearer-term revenue. Last year it acquired Blade Air Mobility’s helicopter rideshare business for about $125 million, gaining a network of 12 terminals in markets including New York City and terminal bases at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty Airport, both sides of Manhattan and Wall Street.
Joby reported $38.6 million in second-quarter revenue, of which $36.2 million came from Blade. For businesses assessing advanced-air-mobility suppliers, the deal shows that Joby is building a distinct defense operation with established sensing capabilities and revenue while its commercial air-taxi programme remains focused on certification, manufacturing and launch.