Hyundai’s eVTOL startup Supernal pauses work following CEO and CTO departures

Summary

Hyundai’s electric air taxi startup Supernal has paused work on its aircraft program after a rocky few months that saw staff cuts and the departure of its CEO and CTO, two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The shakeup comes at a time when Supernal has barely gotten off the ground — literally. The first test flight of its technology demonstrator happened earlier this year. And though Supernal has performed subsequent tests, the company was still working toward its first untethered test flight before the pause. The company had planned to launch a commercial service in 2028. Supernal announced the departure of CEO Jaiwon Shin late last week. David McBride, the CTO, has also left, according to people familiar, who were granted anonymity to speak about private company matters. The OC Register first reported the pause on Supernal’s flight program and McBride’s departure. With regards to the commercial service, the startup told TechCrunch that the “newly appointed leadership will assess and determine the optimal timeline moving forward.” The company declined to comment on McBride leaving. Supernal’s struggles come as the nascent electric air taxi industry is in a period of upheaval. Some startups, like Toyota-backed Joby, have been raising and announcing partnerships and acquisitions. Others, like Lillium, have gone out of business. Spun out of the Hyundai Group in 2021, Supernal laid off dozens earlier this summer ahead of the executive shakeup. That followed the startup abruptly winding down its still-new Washington, D.C. headquarters late last year, as TechCrunch previously reported. David Rottblatt, Supernal’s senior business development director, is overseeing the “business operations of Supernal during this transition as Interim COO.” The larger Hyundai Group “plans to appoint new leadership with deep expertise in business operations to advance Urban Air Mobility (UAM) solutions and guide the organization into its next phase of growth,” according to th...