The sight of futuristic flying electric taxis darting about the skies aren’t too far off in the future, say execs at Supernal, which is putting a key development hub in Irvine and projects its passenger service will start in 2028, and Santa Ana’s Overair, which has a goal of commercial flights in 2026.
See Kevin Costelloe’s page 1 story for more on Supernal, backed by South Korea’s Hyundai, and its hiring plans. See next week’s print edition for the latest updates on Overair from CEO Ben Tigner.
A different type of next-gen flying machine, a Ghost 4 surveillance drone built by tech defense firm Anduril Industries, was on display at the Pacific Club earlier this month, courtesy of Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, who conducted a Q&A; with KCOMM founder and CEO Sinan Kanatsiz before a lively crowd of 140 or so.
Finding new investors isn’t an issue for the 4-year-old company; Luckey noted during the talk that current investors want to keep reinvesting in his Anduril, now valued around $5 billion.
An IPO may occur in a couple of years, he said.
In his spare time, the 29-year-old said he loves tinkering on jet engines. Luckey also owns helicopters, as well as a submarine large enough to hold a crew of 50.
Luckey reiterated his love of Orange County, saying it’s far easier to recruit worldwide talent here than Silicon Valley.
When asked what the Pacific Club can do to attract younger members like him, he joked it should add an “arcade.”
“Maybe change the dress code?” quipped Luckey, who was wearing his trademark aloha shirt, cargo shorts and checkerboard flip-flops.
Following the Pacific Club event, Luckey said he was starting the move of Anduril’s massive new HQ facility under construction in Costa Mesa.
Anduril’s move out of its current HQ at 2722 Michelson hasn’t hurt the building’s valuation; it recently sold for $103 million. See page 4 for more on the latest buy for Irvine’s IRA Capital.
Trading hands at more than $650 PSF, the single-story creative office building overshadows its high-rise neighbors in the airport area by valuation. The Michelson office’s PSF price is the most paid for an Orange County office sale over $100 million the past decade, according to CoStar Group Inc. records.
Pre-COVID, airport-area high rises were likely to trade in the $400 PSF range or higher, depending on their quality. That figure’s since fallen, based on recent transactions.
Irvine’s Rivian (Nasdaq: RIVN) saw its shares rocket from an IPO price of $78 to a high over $170 in the first days following its Nov. 10 IPO. It’s since stabilized at a price around $110 a share, putting its valuation in the $100 billion range—tops for an OC public company.
“Rivian’s compelling product, strong management, and deterministic access to capital,” along with its relationship with Amazon (see story, page 6), have convinced analysts at Morgan Stanley of Rivian’s long-term viability.
“We see [Rivian] as ‘the one’ that can challenge Tesla,” said a research report from Morgan Stanley last week.
