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Beta Technologies, an electric aircraft company, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday at $34 a share. On Monday, the company priced shares in its IPO at $34 each, above its expected range of $27 to $33. Beta said it sold 29.9 million shares, raising over $1 billion. The stock traded about 5% lower after it opened. Beta's IPO marks a major test for the small but competitive electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) industry that's been vying for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The nascent market is currently led by the likes of Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation , and proponents say the technology can ease air traffic congestion. In Beta's IPO prospectus, the company names Archer as one of its customers for its ground support equipment, which mostly consists of chargers. Beta says its chargers are installed in 51 U.S. locations. However, the business is currently very small. During the first half of the year, Beta said its net loss widened to $183.2 million from from $137.1 million in the year-ago period. Revenue more than doubled to $15.6 million from $7.6 million a year ago. Beta was founded in 2017. Founder and CEO Kyle Clark, who is also a test pilot for Beta, told CNBC on Tuesday that aircrafts are currently conducting certain "back end" missions for the U.S. military. He said he expects the company to achieve full FAA certification for commercial operations in about 30 months Clark said the company needed to demonstrate success in production and operations and a pipeline of back orders to offer "fundamental business reasons to walk into the public markets." Beta is going public during a prolonged government shutdown that started at the beginning of October. The Securities and Exchange Commission is operating with a limited staff. Still, Clark said the company decided to "keep the train on the rails" and proceed during the shutdown. Amazon and General Electric are two of the company's leading investors, with stakes of 10.2% and 6.3%, respectively, before the IPO. GE Aerospace said in September it was making a $300 million in Beta. Amazon first invested in 2021 out of its Climate Pledge Fund, part of an effort to "reach net-zero carbon by 2040." Shares of eVTOL competitor Joby and Archer fell 9% and 6%, respectively. Both companies have roughly tripled in value over the last year.
