Alef

About the offering

Alef is building a flying car—a drivable automobile with vertical takeoff and landing capability, not an eVTOL air taxi or drone but an actual car that drives on roads and flies through the air. The company has been developing the technology for 10 years (since 2015) and has completed 1,000+ flights, 500+ automotive drives, and 250+ successful transition flights (switching between driving and flying modes) across multiple models, including full-size vehicles. Alef received FAA Special Airworthiness Certification (experimental category) in 2023, allowing the car to legally take off vertically and fly. The company reports 3,500 purchase orders worth $1 billion ($150, $1,500, and $100,000 refundable deposits toward a $300,000 full price), plus 400 units in signed business agreements (reseller/dealership). Backed by Draper Associates, Draper B1, Impact VC, Splash Capital, Strong VC, Bronco Venture Fund, angel investors, and family offices. Featured on CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, TMZ, and Time Magazine's World's Best Innovations list. Headlined the Detroit Auto Show. Seen by the King of Spain, President of Guyana, and Chancellor of Germany. Three term sheets signed by institutional investors for the next funding round. Based in San Mateo, California (up to 100 cars/year capacity) with a research lab in Milpitas. The Wefunder campaign has raised $50,250 from 15 investors toward a $1,235,000 goal. The Problem Global traffic congestion is a massive problem within the $3T global automotive market. Urban and rural infrastructure is increasingly strained, with limited solutions for bypassing ground-level congestion. Existing approaches fall into categories that don't solve the full problem: eVTOL air taxis (Joby, Archer, eHang) require dedicated infrastructure (vertiports), can't drive on roads, and serve only point-to-point aerial routes; electric vehicles improve emissions but don't address congestion; and traditional aviation requires airports and runways. No vehicle exists that functions as both a normal road car and a vertical takeoff aircraft—until Alef. The flying car has been science fiction for decades because the engineering challenge of combining automotive and aviation requirements in a single vehicle at consumer-accessible price points and regulatory compliance was unsolved. The Solution Alef's flying car uses a Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) system with 8 independent propeller-motor-controller units for vertical lift, differential thrust, and vectored thrust for forward flight. Four separate automotive hub motors in each wheel provide ground driving capability. The vehicle's top mesh allows air through for flight while serving as a structural component and safety enclosure for propellers. The driver and passenger sides function as airfoils during transition to airplane mode, with a circular wing design for transition flight. The vehicle doesn't require runways, airports, or heliports—it lands on any surface and drives. Safety features include 8x propulsion redundancy, enclosed propellers, planned ballistic parachute, glide capability, real-time telemetry, obstacle detection AI, return-to-home, and autoland with zero single points of failure. The initial go-to-market models (Model A Ultralight, Model Zero Ultralight) are classified as Ultralight Aircraft, requiring no certification or pilot license—only compliance—making them suitable for rural areas. The next model targets FAA Light Sport Aircraft classification. Business Model Revenue will come from vehicle sales at $300,000 per unit at delivery. The purchase order backlog represents $1B across 3,500 orders (3,100 deposits at $150/$1,500/$100,000 tiers, all refundable by law) plus 400 units in business agreements through resellers and dealerships. The San Mateo facility has capacity for up to 100 cars/year. The company positions itself as a category-defining segment distinct from eVTOL, flying taxi, or EV categories. Exit opportunities include potential IPO (Alef claims to be further along in key aspects than Joby, Archer, eHang, and Beta were at their IPO/SPAC times) and potential acquisition by large automotive or aviation companies as the market consolidates. Traction 1,000+ flights, 500+ drives, 250+ successful transitions across all models (including full-size vehicles). 3 years of full-size flight and driving testing. FAA Special Airworthiness Certification received in 2023 (experimental category). 3,500 purchase orders worth $1B. 400 units in signed business agreements. 3 institutional term sheets signed for next funding round. Featured on CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, TMZ. Time Magazine World's Best Innovations list. Headlined Detroit Auto Show. Viral video of full-size flying Model Zero Ultralight (February 2025). Seen by heads of state. Backed by Draper Associates, Draper B1, Impact VC, Splash Capital, Strong VC, Bronco Venture Fund. Advisory board includes a former DARPA director and former aviation executive. Car designer Hirash Razaghi (Bugatti, Lotus, Jaguar) is a contractor. The Wefunder campaign has raised $50,250 from 15 investors (4% of $1.235M goal). No revenue disclosed—the company is pre-commercial with vehicles still in testing/development phase. Team CEO and President Jim Dukhovny has 20 years of business experience leading multiple businesses to profitability. He holds CS degrees from UC Berkeley and Santa Clara University and completed Stanford BUS-217. He engineered specific API architectures for platforms including Windows 10 and Walmart.com and is a serial entrepreneur. Director of R&D Oleg Petrov has 20+ years in aeronautics and software engineering, with experience designing helicopter and car models at national OEMs, and previously served as CEO of a profitable company. Director of Engineering Dr. Constantine Kisly holds a PhD in advanced materials, has 20+ years of science and engineering experience, authored 9 peer-reviewed papers and multiple patents, and was formerly a scientist at Intel Labs and Chemical Block Ltd. The team operates across two California locations (San Mateo and Milpitas) with standout contractors including car designer Hirash Razaghi (Bugatti, Lotus, Jaguar). The advisory board includes a former DARPA director and former aviation executive.

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