Investing.com -- British aerospace tech company Vertical Aerospace Ltd (NYSE:EVTL) launched its U.S. tour in New York earlier this month, where its new commercial aircraft Valo was put on display. The event, which follows the launch of eVTOL in London in December 2025, marks the next step of the company’s engagement with stakeholders ahead of entry into service following regulatory approval expected in 2028. The next stop on the tour is Miami in February.
Following the New York event, Investing.com caught up with the company’s CEO Stuart Simpson to learn more about what the company has achieved in 2025, key 2026 milestones investors should be watching, funding plans and the road to profitability.
What does Valo’s New York tour represent for Vertical at this stage of the company’s development, and why is this an important milestone for the business?
The New York event – the first stop on the U.S. Valo tour – marks a major milestone in Vertical’s transition from prototype developer to aerospace manufacturer. This is the first time U.S. investors have had the chance to see why Valo is the best eVTOL on the market in terms of capability, comfort, design and safety.
We’ve had hundreds of people marvel at Valo and its unique design differentiators – such as a segregated pilot cockpit from passengers – integral for safety, pilot training, privacy and comfort. Passengers have the largest cabin in the space – at our New York launch, this was suggested that it was akin to sitting in a Maybach. We have the only luggage hold in the industry with enough space for 70lbs of luggage per person.
The US tour highlights Vertical’s commitment to growing its presence in an incredibly important market and home to key customers and partners, including American Airlines and Bristow, Tier-1 aerospace suppliers like Honeywell, and other experienced operators. Seeing is believing and we’re looking forward to showing Valo in more markets across the U.S. this year.
New York is a natural proving ground given its density, congestion, premium travel demand, and existing heliport network. As part of expanding future US operations, Vertical is working with Bristow and Skyports to explore electric air travel routes in and out of Manhattan, using existing heliport infrastructure such as Downtown Skyport.
These routes are intended to cut multi-hour journeys – like JFK to Manhattan – to just minutes by air.
You’re targeting certification and entry into service in 2028. What are the key milestones between now and then that investors should watch most closely? What are some of the regulatory challenges you might face?
In a nascent industry, it can be difficult for investors to see through the ‘hype,’ but there are certain metrics investors should be looking for – technology, capital efficiency, certification progress, and customer traction – all of which Vertical leads in.
2025 was a year of execution for Vertical. We delivered tangible results and demonstrated meaningful progress in the areas that matter most to long-term value creation. With major technical milestones achieved, new strategic partnerships secured, and the unveiling of Valo, we have entered 2026 focused on scaling execution and translating momentum into sustained commercial success.
This year investors can expect:
- Piloted Transition Flight – the final flight phase. This is the critical de-risk of the technology platform and marks the defining capability of eVTOL aircraft. Successful transition proves the core flight dynamics and is a fundamental technical de-risk. Vertical will be only the second eVTOL OEM to conduct piloted transition flight and the first under the strict regulatory scrutiny mandated in the U.K./EU.
- Build complete of our final prototype, enabling significant public flight demonstrations – particularly in the U.K. – and hybrid-electric flight tests. We will be retrofitting a gas turbine to this prototype and after flying it pure battery-electric, we will fly it hybrid later this year. This will be a meaningful moment for the industry as the first piloted hybrid-electric eVTOL flight.
- Announcements of new partnerships, customers, and suppliers.
- Additional stops on the U.S. Valo Tour, with Miami next at the end of February, then other U.S. cities.
On the regulatory front, it’s important to note that certification is much clearer for Vertical compared to U.S. peers in many thanks to EASA’s / CAA’s defined pathway with SC-VTOL and the rigor of our Permit to Fly flight-test regime. The Permit to Fly regime means it is far more challenging to conduct flight tests in Europe – but effectively front-loads the certification efforts – so Vertical along with our home regulators in the U.K./Europe are well acquainted with our aircraft, how we have designed it, our processes and our people. This will allow a more seamless pathway to certification.
Europe has real pedigree in this space. In fact, EASA has already certified the Pipistrel Velis Electro, the world’s first electric aircraft with a type certificate, and Safran’s electric engine.
While we are still a few years away, we have begun to line up certification partners and work together with regulators to maintain momentum and confidence in our timeline.
For investors concerned about dilution risk amid planned capital raises, especially given steady cash requirements at the company, what does the road to profitability look like?
We are targeting cash breakeven by Q4 2029 and are targeting positive net operating cash flow exceeding $100 million by 2030. This is supported by our leading capital efficiency, which is ingrained into everything we do.
We will achieve piloted transition flight – the critical and final flight test phase – for >$1B less than our peers. We are delivering industry-leading results for industry-leading capital efficiency.
We are targeting a further $700M in additional funding to reach certification towards the end of 2028. As we look ahead, the company is in conversation with strategic investors to support our ramp towards commercialization.
We are not only on track to deliver certification by our timeline, but we are doing so with unmatched capital discipline – creating a faster path to returns for our shareholders.
How ready is the market for Valo? What level of demand do you foresee for the different use cases planned versus alternative modes of transport?
The TAM of both eVTOLs and hybrid electric aircraft is significant – Morgan Stanley reported $1trn by 2040 and $9trn by 2050. This isn’t a race to be first – it’s a deep market that won’t be winner takes all.
We’re positioned to deliver 175 aircraft (eVTOL and hybrid) by 2030, scaling to ~900 aircraft produced annually at scale in 2035, reflecting strong demand and the launch of the hybrid-electric variant.
Particularly with the hybrid-electric variant, we see potential to unlock new markets in logistics, emergency services, and defense where payload, range, and uncrewed capabilities are essential.
Can you tell us a bit about plans to scale the offering down the road once regulatory approval comes through? Will the focus be more on expanding to major hubs across the world beyond the U.K. and U.S., or on scaling services across segments?
Vertical’s growth will be underpinned by three key business lines – sales of Valo (our electric aircraft) and the hybrid-electric variant, as well as battery-as-a-service supporting new and existing customers.
We are the only eVTOL company certifying to the highest global safety standard – the same as commercial airliners – which means we are uniquely positioned to operate globally once certified. Peers certified to lower standards will not be able to operate in higher requirement jurisdictions, such as the EU and U.K. While this path demands more time, data, and discipline, it is the only path that leads to global scale, safe operations, and durable credibility.
This is key to our ability to scale and implies Vertical will have a geographic moat around these higher requirement jurisdictions for the initial years of operation, which supports topline forecasts.
We have the second largest order book in the industry – with 1,500 pre-orders – across a globally diversified end user base and expect Valo to enter into service with our global airline, lessor, and operator customers across Japan, Brazil, U.S., U.K., and more following certification in 2028.
We’re also the only eVTOL program backed by a top-tier aircraft lessor (Avolon) which will diversify our customer base and accelerate global adoption.
