Tencent reaches for the sky by investing in 'flying taxi' firm

FRANKFURT - Lilium has raised a second $90 million round of financing from top tech investors as it moves ahead to develop a five-seater "flying taxi".

The German start-up has Silicon Valley-scale ambitions and is one of the best-funded electric aircraft projects to date after attracting the attention of Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Last year, Lilium received $11.4 million in funding and has emerged as one of Europe's hottest startups for attempting to solve hard physics problems for a new category of small vertical takeoff jets.