2025 becomes a capital catalyst year for eVTOL and the low-altitude economy, with financing paths in China and the US diverging clearly

Overview

This report focuses on the 2025 global eVTOL and low-altitude economy investment landscape and looks ahead to industrial chain evolution in 2026. The report believes that 2025 is an important year in which the low-altitude economy moves from concept validation to commercial acceleration, with capital inflows, policy support, and technological breakthroughs jointly driving higher financing activity. The Chinese market remains in a highly prosperous early-to-mid-stage expansion phase, while overseas markets are led by the US, with capital concentrating in mature companies, strategic financing, and leading defense-related drone players.

Core views

The core view is that the global low-altitude economy has already formed structural divergence: China is in an active early-to-mid-stage ecosystem-building phase, with financing covering aircraft OEMs, industrial drones, core components, low-altitude security, and supporting services, while state capital participation is rising; overseas markets, especially the US, are entering a mature and consolidating phase, with funding more inclined toward eVTOL OEMs nearing commercialization, application-layer companies, and defense technology unicorns. The report expects the industry in 2026 to be driven by both technological upgrading and application rollout, with investment focus further expanding from OEMs to upstream batteries, flight control, power systems, and downstream operating services.

Analysis framework

The report uses primary market financing transaction count, financing amount, round structure, single-deal size, funding sources, and industrial chain distribution as the main analytical dimensions. It compares differences in industrial life cycle stages between the Chinese market and the US-led overseas market, and combines charts, IT Orange data, and company financing lists to assess industry maturity, capital concentration, and the subsequent direction of investment migration.

Methodology notes

• Industrial life cycleComparison of early-stage expansion and mature-stage consolidation

  Determine the stage of the market through financing rounds, single-deal size, and capital concentration.

  The combined share of Angel, Pre-A, and A rounds is relatively high in the Chinese market, reflecting an active startup ecosystem and validation of technology routes; overseas markets have a higher share of strategic financing, large financings, and rescue financings, reflecting that the industry has entered a stage of consolidation and shakeout.

• Industrial chain analysisFull-chain capital allocation

  Compare the distribution of capital across aircraft OEMs, drones, core components, security systems, infrastructure, and operating services.

  Chinese investment places greater emphasis on localization, full-chain development, and self-sufficiency; overseas investment is more tilted toward the application layer and mature commercialized companies.

• Regional comparisonComparison of financing structures between China and overseas markets

  Measure regional differences through number of transactions, financing amount, country distribution, and size of top transactions.

  The US dominates overseas deal count and financing amount, Europe—especially Germany—shows a certain degree of innovative activity, while Asian markets outside China remain relatively early stage.

Asset mapping & comparison

Structured mapping from thesis to named assets (strengths, weaknesses, peers, risks).

• China's low-altitude economy industrial chain

  Directly benefits from policy support, state capital participation, and full-chain financing expansion.

  Strengths

  Financing transaction count is growing rapidly, the early-to-mid-stage startup ecosystem is active, and capital covers multiple links including aircraft OEMs, drones, components, security, and services.

  Weaknesses

  Commercialization is still at an early stage, and airworthiness certification, safety regulation, and order execution still need to be validated.

  Comparison

  Compared with overseas markets, China's single financing sizes are smaller but coverage is broader, emphasizing ecosystem building and local supply chains.

  Risks

  Tighter airspace management, higher licensing thresholds, safety incidents, and slower-than-expected progress in solid-state batteries.

• Mature overseas eVTOL OEMs

  Benefit from capital concentration toward leading companies with high commercialization readiness.

  Strengths

  Stronger technological barriers, industrial partnerships, and commercialization capabilities make it easier to obtain large financings.

  Weaknesses

  High capital expenditures and long certification cycles mean continued financing may be needed if commercialization is delayed.

  Comparison

  Compared with China's broad early-to-mid-stage financing coverage, overseas markets are more focused on leader concentration and industry consolidation.

  Risks

  A tighter financing window, more rescue financing, valuation pressure, and uncertainty in technical certification.

• Defense drone and defense technology companies

  Stand out in large overseas financings, driven by geopolitics and defense demand.

  Strengths

  Defense demand is relatively certain, strategic investor participation is high, and leading companies have strong financing capabilities.

  Weaknesses

  Demand is heavily affected by government budgets, geopolitics, and regulation.

  Comparison

  Overseas financing is more driven by defense technology, while Chinese financing is driven more by transportation transformation and industrial applications.

  Risks

  Policy changes, sanctions restrictions, export controls, and project delivery risks.

• Upstream core components

  May become an important direction for investment diffusion from aircraft OEMs to the broader industrial chain in 2026.

  Strengths

  Batteries, flight control, avionics, and power systems are key bottlenecks for the large-scale rollout of eVTOL.

  Weaknesses

  Technical difficulty is high, validation cycles are long, and requirements for safety and reliability are stringent.

  Comparison

  China's capital pays more attention to the upstream than overseas markets do, which is conducive to forming a complete supply chain.

  Risks

  Slower-than-expected progress in solid-state batteries and other key technologies, delaying the pace of commercialization.

• Low-altitude infrastructure and operating services

  As the industry moves from R&D to application, these may absorb downstream commercialization investment.

  Strengths

  Directly related to large-scale operation of the low-altitude economy and driven by urban air mobility, logistics, firefighting, and industrial application scenarios.

  Weaknesses

  Requires synchronized maturity in regulation, airspace, infrastructure, and demand.

  Comparison

  Overseas capital has already allocated some funding to infrastructure and operating services, while China is still in the full-chain build-out phase.

  Risks

  Inconsistent local policy execution, slower-than-expected infrastructure construction, and business models that are not yet fully validated.

Key data

• China's 2025 low-altitude economy financing transaction count255笔According to IT Orange data, this was up 71% year over year from 149 transactions in 2024.
• Share of China's early-to-mid-stage financing in 2025约75%Angel, Pre-A, and A rounds together accounted for about 75% of total deal volume.
• China's Q3 2025 low-altitude economy financing transaction count95笔Nearly triple the transaction volume in Q3 2024.
• China's Q3 2025 quarterly financing amount超过Rmb10bnEstimated to have increased 77% year over year.
• Share of state capital participation in China in the first nine months of 202540%Up 3 percentage points from the first nine months of 2024.
• Overseas 2025 low-altitude economy financing transaction count42笔The US accounted for about 50% of overseas deal volume.
• US share of overseas financing amount>70%The US dominated late-stage and large overseas financings.
• Share of overseas single financings above US$100m45%Indicating strong leading-company effects and high capital concentration.
• Total amount of the top 10 overseas financing transactions近US$8bnAbout 10 times the total amount of China's top 10 transactions.
• Total amount of China's top 10 financing transactions近Rmb3bnMainly concentrated in early-to-mid-stage rounds.
• China capital allocation: eVTOL aircraft OEMs26%One of the key directions in China's financing distribution.
• China capital allocation: industrial drones24%Together with aircraft manufacturing, this forms a major application and manufacturing direction.
• China capital allocation: core components18%Including avionics, flight control, batteries, and power systems.
• China capital allocation: low-altitude security and counter-drone systems9%Reflecting the importance of supporting security and regulation.
• Overseas capital allocation: eVTOL R&D and manufacturing40%-61%The main text and charts respectively show that overseas capital is highly concentrated in aircraft OEMs and the application layer.

Impact & implications

In terms of investment implications, China's low-altitude economy is more like an ecosystem-building opportunity jointly driven by policy, regional industrial clusters, and supply-chain localization, with potential beneficiary areas including core components, low-altitude security, infrastructure, and operating services; overseas markets place greater emphasis on commercialization certainty, defense demand, and the moats of leading companies, with high capital concentration but greater shakeout pressure on tail-end companies. If airworthiness certification, order conversion, battery technology, and low-altitude infrastructure progress smoothly in 2026, the industry may move from financing enthusiasm into a more verifiable commercialization stage.

Risks

• Tighter airspace management in China may compress the rollout space for low-altitude economy applications.
• Higher thresholds for permits such as airworthiness certificates may delay the commercialization process of eVTOL.
• Safety incidents such as aircraft crashes may weaken regulatory and market confidence.
• Slower-than-expected development of key battery technologies such as solid-state batteries may affect range, payload, and safety metrics.
• High capital concentration in overseas markets may leave tail-end companies facing financing exhaustion, restructuring, or shakeout.
• Geopolitics, sanctions, and changes in defense budgets may affect overseas drone and defense technology financing.

What to watch

• The intensity of policy support, subsidies, and local industrial cluster promotion for China's low-altitude economy in 2026.
• The pace of eVTOL airworthiness certification, trial operations, and commercial order conversion.
• Breakthroughs in core technologies such as solid-state batteries, flight control, power systems, and avionics.
• Whether capital continues to shift from OEMs to upstream components and downstream operating services.
• Progress in large financings, M&A, restructuring, or listings among leading eVTOL and defense drone companies in the US and Europe.
• Orders and project implementation for low-altitude security, counter-drone systems, and infrastructure construction.