Joby Stock Gets AI Shine From Autonomous-Flight Deal With Nvidia

A Joby electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. (Courtesy Joby)

Key Points

• Joby Aviation formed a partnership with Nvidia to develop autonomous flight capabilities for its electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft using Nvidia’s IGX Thor platform.
• Joby’s stock rose 9.2% following the announcement, with shares up 92% year to date and 212% over the past 12 months.
• The collaboration aims for next-generation autonomous features, including flight-path optimization, weather adaptation, and predictive maintenance.

Every stock seems to want some of that artificial-intelligence shine.

After the close on Tuesday, Joby Aviation announced a collaboration with Nvidia to develop autonomous flight capabilities using Nvidia’s IGX Thor platform. Thor, which shares its name with the Norse god, is an Nvidia AI computing platform designed for use in physical products such as planes and robots.

Joby is developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that are quiet, small, and low-cost, potentially opening up new urban air-transport markets.

Joby stock rose 9.2% to $17.03, while the finished flat and the dropped 0.2%.

Planes have autopilot features, but Joby is talking about next-generation capabilities, including automatic flight-path optimization, adapting to weather, and environmental awareness in urban areas. The eVTOL will even monitor its own health, with predictive maintenance capabilities built in.

“The autonomous systems under development at Joby are poised to complement human intelligence by providing speed, precision, and stamina beyond what a person alone is capable of,” said Gregor Veble Mikić, who leads flight research at Joby, in a news release. “We’re enabling a new era of safety-first autonomy in aviation.”

Like so much with AI these days, Joby’s plans feel like the stuff of science fiction, with flying cars in the skies.

Investors have been feeling good about Joby’s prospects lately. Coming into Wednesday trading, shares were up 92% year to date and 212% over the past 12 months.

Joby doesn’t generate significant sales yet. It plans to start commercial service overseas in 2026. Wall Street sees 2029 sales reaching $1 billion, according to FactSet.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com