Most Read: Flying Car Company Starts Manufacturing Plant; 10,000 Units a Year; 400 Drones Light up the Sky Over Dubai

Here are the most-read stories on IoT World Today this week.

Flying Car Company Starts Manufacturing Plant; 10,000 Units a Year

XPeng Aeroht in China has started construction of a large-scale flying car manufacturing plant designed to produce 10,000 flying vehicles a year.

The plant in Guangzhou, China, is scheduled to produce the air module of the modular flying car Land Aircraft Carrier.

XPeng Aeroht earlier this year introduced the Land Aircraft Carrier, a combination road vehicle with a flying component.

The six-wheel, three-axle ground vehicle, known as the mothership, carries the flying component inside it. The rear trunk, which stores the flying component, has a semi-transparent glass design, so the flying vehicle can be subtly visible. 

See the Land Aircraft Carrier in action

400 Drones Light up the Sky Over Dubai

The Dubai-based Cyberdrone light drone show at a recent Bitcoin event in Dubai lit up the sky with 400 synchronized drones. 

The company touts its unique ability to “translate emotions into the language of light and convey ideas through technology.” 

The 15-minute show at the Plan B Forum, to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the Bitcoin Whitepaper, took place over Lugano Lake, creating a mirror effect over the water.

Cyberdrone said its most recent show built on the success of its two previous performances and featured a fleet of synchronized drones that traveled 1,600 feet to create the airborne display. 

Related:Flying Car Company Starts Manufacturing Plant; 10,000 Units a Year

Watch the light show

Flying Vehicle Company Offered $75M Financing Deal

Vertical Aerospace, an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle maker, has been offered a $75 million financing deal from its main creditor.

Mudrick Capital Management, which invested $200 million in the form of convertible senior secured notes in Vertical in 2021, is proposing an equity offering to fund the company into 2026, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

As of June 30, 2024, Vertical had cash and cash equivalents of $84 million, according to the company.

It is unclear how Vertical will respond to the offer, since it could mean relinquishing control of the company.

Watch the DroneDog in action

Apple Launches First Set of AI Features for iPhone, iPad, Mac

A month and a half after announcing it was bringing artificial intelligence to its product line, Apple announced this week the rollout of the first set of Apple Intelligence features for iPhone, iPad and Mac users. 

The company’s Apple Intelligence will power the new models with an “easy-to-use personal intelligence system that understands personal context to deliver intelligence that is helpful and relevant while protecting user privacy,” according to an Apple statement.

Related:400 Drones Light up the Sky Over Dubai

iPhone, iPad and Mac users can access the Apple Intelligence features through a free software update with the release of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.

The company said Apple Intelligence would harness the power of Apple’s silicon servers to understand and create language and images, streamline actions across apps and use personal context to simplify and speed up everyday tasks while ensuring user privacy and security.

Discover more of the features

Flying Taxi Company Gets $50M from Citibank

Air taxi company Eve Air Mobility has received a $50 million loan from Citibank to support the research and development program of the eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle company.

The new financing adds to the recently announced $95.6 million in equity financing from a group of industrial companies and investors in July.

Eve Air also recently secured $88 million in a loan from the Brazil National Development Bank (BNDES) to fund the development of the electric aerial vehicle (EAV) maker.

That loan was for the manufacturing facility in Taubaté, in São Paulo, Brazil, following its partnership with BNDES, which in 2022 provided a line of credit for Eve’s eVTOL development program.

Find out more