VÆRIDION raises €30M Series A2 for Microliner, a nine-seat electric regional aircraft

Munich-based aerospace startup VÆRIDION has raised €30 million in a Series A2 round, Tech.eu reports tech.euTech.eutech.euOpen source ↗. The company is developing the Microliner, an electric nine-seat aircraft with fully battery-powered propulsion, designed to fly up to 400 km with passengers and cargo. The round was led by SHIFT Invest and Invest-NL, the Dutch national investment institution, with participation from existing investors World Fund, Project A and Vsquared Ventures.

Funding and development stage

VÆRIDION has raised about €60 million to date. According to the company, the new money will go toward building the first prototype of the Microliner. The startup also said the EU selected it for a €94.5 million Innovation Fund grant, intended to support development of the aircraft and its manufacture at industrial scale.

CEO Ivor van Dartel said that over the past year the team turned the Microliner from a validated design into hardware. Propulsion and battery technology is now being tested at the company's own facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, and the equity round will allow it to build the first conforming aircraft.

The Microliner concept

VÆRIDION was founded in 2021 by two former Airbus managers, Ivor van Dartel and Dr Sebastian Seemann tech.euTech.eutech.euOpen source ↗. The company describes the Microliner as a patented design. It starts as a nine-seater, with plans to scale the technology to pan-European flights, and the company is targeting 2030 for entry into commercial service.

The startup says the aircraft emits less noise than conventional aircraft, which makes it suitable for smaller airfields and for rollout in underserved areas. The stated aim is to do for regional aviation what electric cars have done for road transport: replace fossil-fuelled vehicles with battery-powered ones.