When a small country invests tens of millions in prototypes that do not yet carry passengers, it looks like a risky game. However, behind such a move lies a clear calculation: to capture a share of the future urban air mobility market, which by 2035 could be valued at hundreds of billions of dollars.
Professor James Wang, who was at the origins of the term eVTOL back in 2008, now heads a project at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Over three years, the team under his leadership designed, built and tested in Germany the first Singaporean prototypes — an eight-metre and a three-metre aircraft. The tests demonstrated the transition from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight, and this is no longer just blueprints but a real engineering foundation.
Singapore has invested 25 million dollars of public funds, but launching a commercial version will require nearly a billion. Such figures make one wonder: who will ultimately reap the returns — taxpayers, investors, or a narrow circle of specialists? The government clearly sees in the project not only technology but also a way to secure the country's status as a regional hub for advanced aviation technologies.
Wang brought with him experience from working at Sikorsky and AgustaWestland, where he led the world's first fully electric tiltrotor, Project Zero. His move to the university in 2019 was part of a strategy to attract world-class experts. For Singapore, this is a classic move: converting human capital into a long-term economic advantage while other countries spend billions on already-mature startups.
Imagine a gardener who tends seedlings for years, knowing that the fruit will not appear for at least a decade. So it is here: early investment in infrastructure, talent and regulation can give Singapore a competitive edge when the eVTOL market finally matures. Private investors who are now eyeing this topic risk either missing the moment or investing too early and losing out on the long development cycle.
The main lesson for those thinking about personal finances: money in innovation does not work on the principle of "fast and plenty" but on the principle of "patiently and strategically." Singapore shows how a small economy can turn an academic project into a national asset if the focus shifts from immediate profit to creating the conditions for future growth.
