Billy Thalheimer (CEO) and Michael Klinker (CTO) of REGENT with a full-scale mockup of their first electric seaglider.
Courtesy REGENT
Regent, a startup revolutionizing transportation with electric seagliders, recently secured $60 million in venture funding and forged a partnership with Japan Airlines to bring their electric ferries to Japan’s waterways.
8090 Industries, alongside Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, co-led Regent’s series A round, with participation from Japan Airlines Innovation Fund and Point72 Ventures. This latest funding brings Regent’s total capital raised to $90 million, according to CEO Billy Thalheimer.
In a significant milestone, Regent successfully built a quarter-scale prototype and conducted test runs on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay to demonstrate the functionality of their seagliders, known as wing-in-ground-effect craft (WIGs).
The commercial version, named the Viceroy, will be a battery-powered 12-seater capable of flying at speeds up to 180 mph with a range of about 180 miles.
Regent also unveiled a full-scale mockup of the Viceroy and a virtual simulation room where visitors can experience flying the seaglider over various waterways. According to Thalheimer, this immersive experience generates excitement and interest.
Regent has built a full-scale mockup of its first electric seaglider, the 12-seat Viceroy.
Courtesy REGENT
Regent aims to make their seagliders accessible to travelers, similar to regular ferries or water taxis. Additionally, they plan to sell seagliders for cargo transport, search and rescue operations, offshore logistics, and security and defense services.
Leading airlines and ferry operators like Mesa Airlines, Brittany Ferries, and FRS have already placed orders for Regent’s seagliders, with more than 500 units expected to generate approximately $8 billion in revenue. Southern Airways will be the first to operate the Viceroy under their Mokulele Airlines brand.
With its new funding, Regent will focus on expanding its team, developing and testing full-scale prototypes, and ensuring the safety systems required for passenger flights are in place.
The company, which currently has 55 full-time employees, has attracted top talent from notable organizations such as SpaceX and Bureau Veritas.
In the long term, Regent is working on a 100-seat seaglider called the Monarch, which is still in the early design stages. The Viceroy seagliders are expected to enter production and service within two to three years, while the larger Monarch seagliders are slated for service by 2030.
Rayyan Islam, general partner at 8090 Industries, emphasized the demand for Regent’s seagliders and the team’s success in prototyping and proving the viability of the Viceroy. He believes that every industry must pursue “decarbonization” in a way that is economically beneficial, and Regent’s seagliders present a solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in aviation and marine transportation.
Islam envisions Regent seagliders being utilized for various applications, including transportation for offshore energy projects and maintenance of aging infrastructure.
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