Airbus pursues aviation technology dreams in Silicon Valley

In May 2015 Airbus established an outpost in Silicon Valley called A3 (“A-cubed”), with a mission to disrupt the industry before someone else does. Brainchild of CEO Tom Enders was established to take on projects offering a high risk profile and requiring great ambition and fast execution. Located in San Jose, about 70 kilometers southeast of San Francisco, A3 takes advantage of the region’s fertile start-up ecosystem, academic institutions and tech expertise. Where Airbus’ vision is: ”We make it fly”, A3 is tasked with building the future of flight.

Now in its third year, A3 has grown to just under 100 employees with a similar number of contractors working on up to eight projects at a time. Once these projects reach a level of maturity and culminate in a productizable demonstrator (or a demonstrator at convincing scale) the goal is for that project to transition into Airbus.

A3’s current projects include:

Vahana, launched in early 2016, is a self-piloted electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that will answer the world’s growing needs for urban mobility. The vehicle aims to democratize personal flight by leveraging the latest knowledge in electric propulsion, automated sense-and-avoid systems and battery technology. Vahana went from a sketch to an aircraft in less than two years and its first flight took place in January.

Voom has developed a business model for on-demand access to helicopters in urban areas that keeps the cost low for consumers. Voom launched in April 2017 in Sao Pãolo and plans to expand to four other cities in 2018. In February, Voom announced that it officially became part of Airbus Helicopters.

Altiscope, launched in September 2017, is a simulator for evaluating air traffic management policy options and operational models at a level that allows regulators, policymakers, operators, etc. to test different approaches and see the impacts. The team is working with regulators around the world to find solutions to unique ATM challenges.

For more information please contact:
Pilar WOLFSTELLER
Director of Communications
pilar.wolfsteller@airbus-sv.com