Hyundai Motor Group is moving its flying taxi division’s headquarters from the nation’s capital to Irvine, bolstering the local hub of aerospace and aircraft companies.
The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) startup called Supernal is asking between 35 and 40 people to relocate to OC from Washington, D.C., boosting the company’s Irvine operations to nearly 400 employees.
Supernal aims to take to the air in 2028. If that happens, it would revolutionize urban transport though plenty of obstacles and competition remain.
Orange County companies involved in aerospace and aircraft work run the full gamut from Marvin Test Solutions in Irvine, to satellite maker Iceye also in Irvine and to somewhat reduced giant Boeing, with plenty in-between.
Supernal made it clear efficiency is a key element for the HQ switch.
“In order to enhance collaboration and communication across teams, Supernal has decided to shift a majority of positions currently based in Washington, D.C., to its Irvine, California office,” Jaiwon Shin, president of the Hyundai Motor Group of South Korea and CEO of Supernal, told the Business Journal in a statement on Dec. 16.
“Irvine will become Supernal’s headquarters moving forward and the Washington, D.C., office will remain a hub for policy and regulatory efforts,” Shin added. “This decision will help ensure Supernal meets its goal of entry into service in 2028.”
Service Entry 2028 Steady
The 35 to 40 employees being asked to relocate to California represent about 5% of Supernal’s workforce.
Supernal declined to say how many will remain in D.C. according to industry website TechCrunch, but the move reportedly affects a majority of the people located there. Data from LinkedIn and a source who spoke to TechCrunch on the condition of anonymity show around 45 people have been working in the D.C. area for Supernal.
The change comes just a little more than a year after Supernal opened the 28,000-square-foot office in D.C.
Around the same time, Supernal opened what it called an “engineering headquarters” in Irvine and an “R&D headquarters” in Fremont.
The Irvine site at 15555 at Laguna Canyon Road will become the company’s HQ.
Supernal Poised to Emerge on Top
Supernal was established in 2020 as Hyundai Motor Group’s Urban Air Mobility Division.
The effort has grown to around 700 employees in the years since.
Supernal looks poised to emerge as the topflight contender to take the lead in eVTOL aircraft with the backing of deep-pocketed South Korean giant Hyundai, which runs its American automotive unit in Fountain Valley. Giant Hyundai Motor Group has about 250,000 employees worldwide.
Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) of Santa Cruz, Boeing-owned Wisk Aero of Mountain View and Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) are just three of the U.S. companies that have been seeking to develop eVTOLs, electric-powered flying taxis and cargo carriers.
Besides air taxis, companies in the industry have been emphasizing a broad range of possible uses to include carrying medical equipment, emergency rescue supplies and limited cargo.
“There’s room for everybody in this market,” Supernal CTO David McBride told the Business Journal in June. The market “will certainly support more than one provider.”
Archer recently took a slight turn by announcing a partnership with Anduril Industries of Costa Mesa to develop a next-generation hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for the military (see the Dec. 16 print edition of the Business Journal).
While Santa Ana-based Overair previously said it has a goal of a flying taxi service in Dallas by 2026, when the city hosts the FIFA World Cup, it has reportedly been running low on capital and several of its employees have quit, according to a Forbes magazine article in March. Overair executives haven’t responded to Business Journal requests for comment on the Forbes article and the Supernal HQ move.
Founded in 2020 as Spinoff
Supernal last year moved into a 105,000-square-foot office at Irvine Company Discovery Park and nearby has another 80,000-square-foot satellite test and evaluation site. CTO McBride, who lives in Newport Beach, has been overseeing Supernal’s futuristic-looking engineering headquarters in Irvine.
The company is developing the eVTOL, called the S-A2, which will hold four passengers and a pilot. It will initially meet typical city operation needs of 25- to 40-mile trips.
The plan is for the S-A2 to cruise at 120 miles per hour and reach an altitude of 1,500 feet, while McBride said it will have 60 to 100 miles of range. It will have a total of about 1,000 pounds payload and be much quieter than helicopters.
Buzzing Skies, Rigid Certification Path
Meeting the 2028 goal is a path filled with challenges, ranging from public acceptance of the new aircraft buzzing overhead to the exacting certification process, which mandates various government approvals before the vehicle can enter commercial service.
The company had grown to about 350 employees in Irvine as of June, with plans for a few dozen more this year, McBride said. The overall headcount was approximately 700 across Irvine, Fremont and Washington, D.C. as of June.
