Electric Planes Make a Flight Into The Present With ALIA

Beta Technologies is an American aerospace company which is breaking the barriers and pioneering electric aviation with its groundbreaking ALIA series of electric aircraft. 

Founded in 2017 by Harvard-trained engineer and former professional hockey player Kyle Clark, the company is headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont. AVA was BETA’s first full-scale proof of concept aircraft which was designed, built, tested, and flown by a handful of engineers within 10 months of its founding in 2017. 

Coming to 2025, the more refined Alia series is making headlines worldwide as a harbinger of the future of civil aviation. In addition, Beta is also investing in the charging ecosystem, tackling one of the biggest hurdles to electric aviation adoption, positioning itself as a provider of complete solutions beyond just airplanes.

Breakthrough in Electric Aviation

The ALIA platform comes in two configurations: the ALIA A250, a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and the ALIA CX300, a conventional takeoff and landing variant (CTOL) that uses runways. 

ALIA A250 VTOL - Vertical takeoff & landing all-electric aircraft

It’s now been four years since the company debuted its first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the ALIA–250. 

Recently, the firm’s ALIA CTOL plane completed its first demonstration flight with passengers onboard, flying for about 5 minutes before landing safely at JFK International Airport in NYC. ALIA CTOL is an electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) plane that has flown tens of thousands of test miles en route to evaluation flights for FAA certification. It is expected to get full approval for commercial operations this year.

ALIA CX300 CTOL - Conventional takeoff & landing all-electric aircraft

Both models share a 50-foot wingspan, accommodate five passengers, offer a cargo capacity of 200 cubic feet, and can be fully charged in under an hour. The ALIA A250 can take off like a helicopter and then transition to flying like an airplane, a maneuver Beta successfully demonstrated in April 2024 when a test pilot executed a full hover-to-cruise transition and back. The ALIA CX300 boasts a demonstrated range of 336 nautical miles. Both the planes offer a maximum speed of 153 knots. 

Showcasing Beta’s growing network of charging stations, an ALIA aircraft accomplished a historic coast-to-coast flight across the United States, flying nearly two months through 20 plus states and stopping at 82 different airports in summer of 2023. 

Apart from the recent passengers onboard flight, Alia has also demonstrated other mission capabilities like organ delivery missions, military exercises, and public showcases. 

Cleaner and Cheaper Flights

By removing combustion engines, ALIA aircraft offer hugereductions in noise and emissions. Beta’s all-electric propulsion results in zero operational emissions, and the company estimates an 84 percent reduction in greenhouse gases for the ALIA VTOL compared to an equivalent fossil-fueled helicopter (like a Bell 407). 

Operating costs are expected to be far lower as well. The company claims that it costs only about USD 28 of electricity per flight-hour for the VTOL model, versus over USD 300 in fuel per hour for a conventional helicopter. 

This huge cost advantage, combined with minimal engine noise and vibration, opens up new possibilities for frequent short-hop flights, such as medical evacuations or cargo runs, that are both neighborhood-friendly and economically sustainable. 

Reliable Charging Ecosystem

Beta Technologies recognized early on that a network of charging infrastructure is essential to the success of electric flight. In parallel with its aircraft, the company has developed a robust charging system called the Charge Cube, a high-powered 320 kW charger that received UL certification in 2024. 

Charge Cube by Beta Technologies

By the beginning of 2025, Beta already had 46 charging stations across the United States, with dozens more in development to support its flight operations. Beta plans to enforce its charging infrastructure with nearly 150 stations by 2025. 

These chargers are typically located at airports and vertiports where electric aircraft can top up in less than an hour. Vertiports are specialized landing and takeoff sites for Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. 

Notably, Beta’s chargers are interoperable as well, that is they can also service ground electric vehicles like cars and trucks when not charging aircraft. This flexibility broadens their utility and helps build momentum for electrification in transportation generally.

Financial Backing and Funding Milestones

Beta Technologies raised over USD 1 billion in capitalto date to fund its aircraft development, manufacturing, and infrastructure build-out. 

In its Series A funding, Beta closed a USD 368 million financing led by Fidelity Management & Research, with participation from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. This enormous first round instantly made Beta one of the best-funded eVTOL startups and enabled the company to expand testing, hire talent, and build facilities.

In its Series B funding round in 2022, Beta got USD 375 million support from TPG's climate investment fund and was joined by returning investors like Fidelity and Amazon. The Series B funding was directed toward achieving FAA certification and scaling up manufacturing, including breaking ground on a 375,000 sqft production facility in Vermont.

The October 2024 Series C round helped Beta secure USD 318 million in Series C funding led by the Qatar Investment Authority (Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund), with participation from other major stakeholders such as Fidelity, TPG, and even Beta’s customer-turned-investor United Therapeutics. This round brought Beta’s total funding above the USD 1 billion mark. The capital is earmarked for pushing the ALIA aircraft through final certification and into production.

In addition to equity financing, Beta Technologies has benefited from substantial government and strategic support. In 2023, the US Export-Import Bank approved a USD 169 million loan to help Beta build out manufacturing facilities as part of a ‘Make More in America’ initiative supporting clean technology jobs. 

The US Department of Health and Human Services also awarded Beta a USD 20 million contract to install chargers along the East Coast for disaster relief and medical transport needs. States like New York and Michigan have provided grants to expand Beta’s infrastructure and create jobs. 

Strategic Partnerships

To bring its aircraft to market, Beta has forged high-profile partnerships across multiple industries. For instance, global shipper UPS was one of Beta’s earliest customers .

Blade Urban Air Mobility, known for helicopter air taxi services, committed to purchase up to 20 ALIA aircraft in 2021 to electrify its fleet. This made Blade one of the first passenger service companies to embrace Beta’s aircraft. 

Similarly, in New Zealand, a regional air ambulance service has ordered ALIA eVTOLs for medical evacuation missions, and Air New Zealand selected the ALIA CTOL as the launch platform for its Mission NextGen Aircraft program, aiming to fly a commercial demonstrator by 2026.

Beta has closely collaborated with the US Department of Defense to align its aircraft with national security and emergency response needs. Through the Air Force’s Agility Prime initiative, in 2021, ALIA became the first crewed eVTOL aircraft to receive a military airworthiness approval, allowing Air Force pilots to fly it in test scenarios. Beta also delivered an ALIA aircraft to the Air Force in 2023 for ongoing experimentation and training with the 413th Test Squadron. 

In 2024, BETA successfully completed military exercises with the US Air Force’s Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC), demonstrating ALIA's logistics, resupply, and medevac capabilities. 

In addition, Beta has also allied with established aviation players. For instance, Bristow Group, the world’s largest helicopter operator, ordered 5 ALIA aircraft with options for 50 more. Lease Corporation International (LCI), a major aircraft leasing firm, had also placed an order for 50 ALIA aircraft, with 75 more reserved.

On the infrastructure front, Beta teamed with Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation  – two leading airport service (FBO) chains – to install charging stations at their facilities along the East Coast and Gulf Coast, seeding the network where business aviation customers operate.

In an industry first, Beta teamed up with another eVTOL company, Archer Aviation, in late 2024 to ensure that charging standards are common and interoperable. Archer agreed to utilize Beta’s charging systems for its own future aircraft, signaling an alignment across the industry for compatible infrastructure.

Looking ahead, Beta Technologies’ strategic goal is to commercialize the ALIA aircraft by 2026.