SkyDrive Inc., a leading compact eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, announced that it has raised new funding through a third-party share allotment to Tobu Railway Co. Ltd., one of Japan’s leading transportation operators, and Tobu Top Tours Co. Ltd. Through this partnership, the companies will work closely to accelerate commercial eVTOL deployment in the Kanto region by combining the Tobu Group’s extensive transportation and tourism assets with SkyDrive’s aircraft development and operational expertise.
Background and Purpose
Driven by its mission of leading the once-in-a-century mobility revolution, SkyDrive is developing and manufacturing compact eVTOL aircraft to make everyday air mobility a reality. Following uncrewed demonstration flights at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, SkyDrive continues to make steady progress through the certification processes required for commercial operations, working toward type certification. Leveraging assembly lines established in collaboration with a leading automaker, SkyDrive is currently advancing commercialization projects alongside local partners and municipalities across 10 countries worldwide.
In Japan, SkyDrive has collaborated with four regional railway operators on feasibility studies and flight demonstrations. With this strategic investment, the Tobu Group becomes SkyDrive’s fifth railway partner. Partnering with the Tobu Group, which operates one of Japan’s major private railway networks, allows SkyDrive to advance business development and plan ground infrastructure across the Kanto region, surrounding Tokyo.
Key Areas of Collaboration
Through this investment and partnership, the companies will focus on the following core initiatives across the Kanto region:
- Ground Infrastructure and Tourism Asset Utilization: Tobu Railway will leverage its extensive rail network, regional presence and tourism assets — particularly in the Nikko area — to establish and promote vertiport infrastructure.
- Seamless Biometric Authentication and Safety: The partners will utilize Tobu Railway’s “SAKULaLa” common biometric authentication platform to enable accurate identity verification and boarding pass clearance, delivering a frictionless passenger experience.
- Integrated Business Mediation and Multimodal Travel Packages: Tobu Top Tours will act as an operational connector, utilizing its destination management expertise and municipal networks to design new business models and package secondary transport services.
Through this deepened partnership with the Tobu Group, SkyDrive will strengthen its business foundation and accelerate the buildout of next-generation mobility infrastructure toward launching commercial services in 2028 and driving sustainable long-term growth.
Tomohiro Fukuzawa, founder and CEO of SkyDrive
“We are thrilled and deeply encouraged that Tobu Railway and Tobu Top Tours share our vision for the future. To establish eVTOLs as a familiar part of everyday life, we must do more than just build aircraft. We need to seamlessly connect our aircraft with existing transit networks, develop vertiports and create compelling regional travel experiences. Alongside the Tobu Group, which boasts an extensive transit network and iconic tourism assets across Kanto such as Nikko, we will work toward launching commercial services in 2028 to make air mobility a daily choice.”
