Lilium, a company working on flying taxis that can take off and land vertically, has ceased operations. as TechCrunch notes, German media Builder scene was the first publication to report that it laid off 1,000 workers a few days ago after it failed to secure additional financing to continue developing its technology. Patrick Nathen, the company’s co-founder, announced that the company has stopped all operations in LinkedIn. Tagging his co-founders, he said they could no longer continue working on their “shared belief in greener aviation,” at least under Lilium.

The German company has been testing their VTOL electric air taxis for a while now. Its vehicle flew for the first time for it first flight back in 2017and it completed the first round of flight tests in 2019. Lilium has proven that its VTOL air taxis can fly at speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour, although the Lily Jet prototype it was revealed in 2019 that it would be able to travel at a maximum speed of 300 kmh and have a range of 300 kilometers.

Lilium struggled financially last year, but its CEO has been reported remains optimistic about securing adequate funding as recently as last month. Builder scene said a small number of people would remain employed to help with the liquidation. The company has yet to announce what will happen to its technology and its remaining assets, but its patent attorney, Fabien Müller, wrote in a post that he was in charge of the transition of Lilium’s intellectual property.

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