Electric aircraft startup Lilium has ceased its operations, two months after filing for insolvency.
Lilium aimed to develop electric personal aircraft capable of vertical take-offs and landings. The company, based in Germany, boasted investors like Tencent and supply partners like Honeywell.
“After 10 years and 10 months, it’s a sad reality that Lilium has ceased operations,” said Lilium co-founder and CEO Patrick Nathen. “The company that Daniel [Wiegand], Sebastian [Born], Matthias [Meiner], and I founded can no longer pursue our shared belief in greener aviation.”
The company dismissed around 1,000 employees as its operations ended. Lilium also laid off about 200 of its workers earlier this month. A small number of employees will stay on to support Lilium’s liquidation.
Lilium filed for insolvency in October after the German government declined its request for a EU€50 million loan.
A group of shareholders also filed a class action lawsuit against Lilium in New York last week.
The suit alleges that Lilium “made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects.” The company overstated its fundraising abilities and did not sufficiently disclose its imminent insolvency this year, according to the lawsuit.
Lilium reported a loss of EU€263 million in the 2023 fiscal year. Its first Lilium Jets had just advanced into the final assembly stage, as of 2024’s first quarter.
The company launched its initial public offering in 2021, and closed a US$100 million funding round in May 2023.
Lilium’s (NASDAQ: LILM) share price closed at US$0.04, down from the previous day’s $0.07. Its market capitalisation is US$23.7 million.