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San Mateo, CA

Developing a drivable vertical-takeoff flying car and advancing certification and production for next-generation flight.

• FAA certification pathway: Alef received FAA Special Airworthiness Certification in 2023 and is progressing toward a planned FAA Light Sport Aircraft version.
• Drive to flight transitions: The vehicle is designed to function as a drivable car with vertical takeoff and transition between driving and powered flight.
• Distributed electric propulsion: The design uses distributed electric propulsion with multiple controller-motor systems, differential thrust, vectored thrust, and hub motors integrated into each wheel.
• Safety, redundancy, and monitoring: Alef describes safety features including enclosed propellers, propulsion redundancy, real-time telemetry inspection, and navigation support such as obstacle detection and return-to-home.
• Extensive testing across models: Alef documents extensive activity across multiple models, including flights, automotive rides, and successful transition demonstrations.

Proceeds will support engineering, flight-test, and compliance work for Alef’s drivable vertical-takeoff flying car. The funding will advance development from current Ultralight aircraft configurations toward a planned FAA Light Sport Aircraft version, while continuing transition testing from road operation to powered flight. It will also scale manufacturing readiness at Alef’s San Mateo operations and expand research and development capacity at its Milpitas lab. The goal is to convert existing purchase orders and business agreements into delivered vehicles.

Alef designs a full-scale vehicle intended to drive in road environments and take off vertically, with landing on a land surface rather than requiring a runway, airport, or heliport. The company uses distributed electric propulsion for vertical lift, including multiple propeller-speed controller-motor systems, differential thrust, and vectored thrust for forward flight and stabilization. Four wheel hub motors provide automotive movement, while a top mesh and driver and passenger structures are described as airfoil components during transition. Alef reports an emphasis on safety through enclosed propellers, propulsion redundancy, real-time telemetry inspection, and navigation safety features such as obstacle detection and return-to-home. The company received FAA Special Airworthiness Certification in 2023 and describes regulation as managed by existing FAA systems in the air and existing NHTSA systems on the ground. Alef documents extensive test activity across multiple models, including flights, drives, and successful transitions.

Company Info

Alef develops a drivable flying car that transitions between road driving and vertical takeoff flight using distributed electric propulsion and safety systems.

Alef designs and engineers a drivable vehicle with vertical takeoff and flight capability, built as a full-scale system rather than a concept. The product transitions between ground driving and airborne operation, including controlled transition flight behavior and iterative testing through completed flight and drive cycles. Vehicle certification pathways focus on ultralight aircraft compliance and an experimental-category FAA special airworthiness certification for vertical takeoff and flight.

The engineering approach centers on distributed electric propulsion with multiple independent propeller-motor speed controllers, differential and vectored thrust for stability and forward flight, and hub motors for ground mobility. Safety features include enclosed propellers, redundancy across propulsion components, real-time telemetry and monitoring, obstacle-aware software navigation functions, and planned additional safety mechanisms such as a ballistic parachute for later models. Regulatory operation spans existing FAA air rules and NHTSA ground rules.