Forget Autonomous Cars

Self-flying aircraft is where it's at – the market is expected to generate $325 billion between now and 2040, per recent research from the Aerospace Industries Association and Avascent, an aviation consultancy.

• Think: vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, to mid-size jets, all the way up to larger cargo and passenger planes.

💰 Driving Flying the market… So far, around $7 billion has been invested into autonomous flight startups chasing cargo, passenger and industrial (fighting forest fires, providing Wi-Fi in disaster areas, inspecting infrastructure, etc.) applications, per Axios.

• The market progression is expected to take place like this: industrial → cargo (i.e., delivering goods) → passenger air taxis and planes "most likely not arriving at scale until at least well into the [2050s]," per the AIA’s report.
• Startups like Joby Aviation, Archer and Lilium initially plan to launch air taxi services with human pilots before transitioning them into more of an observational role, potentially overseeing multiple aircraft at once.

🛬 Zoom out: Earlier this month, the FAA issued engineering guidance for the design of “vertiports,” aka places where air taxis and cargo shuttles might land.

📊 Flash Poll: A big barrier for autonomously driven/flown vehicles is sure to be the public’s attitude towards using the tech. As it sits, would you feel comfortable taking a ride in a self-driving car? (Let’s save the sky for another day.)

Yeah, of course

No way

Maybe with some peer pressure 😉