Joby Aviation has entered into a preliminary agreement with prominent Saudi conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ), aiming for the distribution of up to 200 electric aircraft within Saudi Arabia. Valued at approximately $1 billion, this potential partnership could significantly accelerate Joby’s plans to commercialize its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the region.
Paul Sciarra, executive chairman of Joby Aviation and co-founder of Pinterest, emphasized the importance of such distribution partners in enabling faster, cost-effective scaling. “People often ask us how we intend to monetize quickly,” Sciarra said. “This arrangement demonstrates our momentum in establishing direct sales approaches, leveraging local distributor networks to rapidly achieve scale at lower costs. We anticipate this to be just the first of several geographically strategic deals.”
The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), though not yet finalized, signals the clear intent of both companies to proceed toward a formal agreement. Sources familiar with the discussions indicate more detailed plans will be shared later this year once negotiations progress further.
This would mark one of the first instances of an eVTOL startup successfully securing a distributor partnership to manage the sales and operations of its aircraft. In addition to distribution agreements, Joby maintains plans to directly operate its own fleet within the United States and partner with existing air carriers and airlines in other key markets, including Japan.
Sciarra described ALJ as an ideal strategic partner, citing the group’s longstanding relationship with Toyota—one of Joby’s major backers. Toyota recently completed the initial $250 million tranche of a pledged $500 million investment into Joby. Similarly, ALJ has a historical connection with Toyota dating back to 1955, when it became the exclusive distributor of Toyota vehicles in Saudi Arabia, eventually evolving into one of the largest independent global distributors for Toyota and Lexus brands. ALJ also participated directly in Joby Aviation’s Toyota-led Series C funding round in 2020.
Beyond financial and legacy connections, Sciarra emphasized ALJ’s extensive local infrastructure capabilities, including sales expertise, pilot training facilities, and full support and maintenance services—elements critical to the success and sustainable growth of Joby’s business model in the region. Moreover, ALJ’s deep-rooted relationships with the Saudi government and prominent local projects, such as the Red Sea Project and AlUla heritage sites, position the conglomerate favorably to integrate Joby’s aircraft into the country’s upcoming transportation frameworks.
Despite focusing initial launches in Dubai next year followed by the United States, this announced partnership illustrates Joby Aviation’s strategy to leverage local partnerships to quickly expand into secondary markets. Sciarra noted that this approach will allow Joby to effectively monetize additional geographies internally identified as strategically valuable, thereby enhancing overall market reach and growth potential.
The proposed agreement with ALJ coincides with notable steps between Saudi Arabia and the United States to strengthen technological and infrastructure ties. Recent high-profile announcements have included massive investment commitments from Saudi Arabian firm DataVolt and cooperative ventures involving leading American tech companies such as Google, Oracle, Salesforce, AMD, and Uber, totaling around $80 billion as part of broader strategic economic initiatives.
