Electric aircraft startup Beta Technologies seeks to raise $825M in IPO

Electric aviation startup Beta Technologies has priced shares for its initial public offering between $27 and $33, in hopes of raising as much as $825 million, according to a regulatory document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If the company attracts investors at the top of that range it will debut with a valuation of about $7.2 billion.

The Vermont-based company, which was founded in 2017 by its enigmatic CEO Kyle Clark, filed the paperwork Wednesday despite the government shutdown. The SEC issued guidance earlier this month that allows companies in IPO limbo to allow their statements on certain areas, including share price, to become automatically effective after 20 days, even without SEC staff review. Several other companies, including Navan, have pressed ahead with IPO plans under this rule.

Clark, a Harvard-educated former professional hockey player and pilot instructor, has not followed the typical path of a startup founder. He eschewed Silicon Valley for his Vermont hometown and took a different path to raising funds to develop and build electric aircraft. Beta has never taken venture capital, instead raising $1.15 billion in funds from institutional investors like Fidelity and Qatar Investment Authority.

Last month, the Beta Technologies announced a strategic deal with GE Aerospace to build a hybrid-electric turbogenerator for next-gen aircraft. GE Aerospace agreed to take a stake in the company and invest $300 million as part of the deal.