Overview
- Joby announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Dayton-based Resonant Sciences for about $500 million, with roughly $450 million in cash and $50 million in stock and a planned close in early 2027 subject to regulatory approval.
- Resonant, a roughly 250-employee firm that reported more than $100 million in trailing 12-month revenue and growing backlog, will operate as Joby’s dedicated defense division and keep its current leadership after the deal closes.
- Joby said it will fold its existing military projects into the new unit to pair Resonant’s radio-frequency, sensing, signal-processing and low-observability systems with Joby’s propulsion and autonomy work for dual‑use and defense platforms.
- The company also opened an at-the-market equity program of up to $750 million, a move that prompted near-term investor concern and a premarket share decline as markets weighed dilution and the cost of the acquisition.
- The transaction follows similar moves by rival eVTOL firms to buy established defense businesses, reflecting a wider industry shift toward proven defense revenue and manufacturing scale while commercial air taxi certification remains slow.