Uber's flying taxi plans are taking off.
The company announced this morning that it will be building a new advanced technologies centre in Paris for research focused on its flying taxi Uber Elevate project.
The research and development hub will be its first outside of North America, and over the next five years, the company will be plugging €20m (£17.5m) into developing new tech there.
Read more: Uber to offer drivers medical cover as it gears up for London decision
Eric Allison, head of aviation programmes at Uber, said that each month more than 70m people across the road use the Uber app for a trip.
"But weve realised that to create efficient cities with less congestion and cleaner air, we also need to look to the sky," he said. "To do this we launched our Elevate program in 2016 to build a network of all-electric, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft powered by distributed electric propulsion."
Allison added that Uber was also looking to invest in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive, said:
Building the future of our cities will require the best and brightest minds working together.
With world-class engineers and a leading role in global aviation, France is the perfect place to advance our Uber Elevate program and new technology initiatives.
The European move comes after calls for London mayor Sadiq Khan to pitch for Uber to bring its flying taxi project to the capital, but so far City Hall has been cool on the project.
UberAir, as it will be known, has already picked Dallas and Los Angeles as its first two potential launch cities, and is on the hunt for a third international city to bid for the chance to have demonstration flights by 2020.
But the ride-hailing app is already embroiled in a battle with Transport for London (TfL) over its London operations, with a court hearing getting underway next month to decide whether Uber is currently fit and proper to hold a licence in the capital.
London Assembly Conservative member, Andrew Boff, said that today's Paris announcement was "a direct consequence" of the mayor's "anti-business actions".
He said:
It is unfortunate that innovative and entrepreneurial businesses like Uber would rather choose Paris than London under Khan.
This decision is a direct consequence of Khan refusing to renew Ubers licence and creating an unwelcome business environment for Londons businesses.
Deputy mayor for business, Rajesh Agrawal, said: "When Sadiq was elected he promised to be the most pro-business mayor of London ever – and he is delivering on that promise."
He added:
Despite the result of the EU referendum, the capitals proposition as a world-leading tech city remains strong: since the vote, London has seen billions of pounds of investment by the world's biggest tech firms, including Google, Apple, Amazon, Expedia and Snap.
Whats more, Ernst and Young recently ranked the capital as the second most likely place to produce the worlds next tech giant, second only to Silicon Valley in the US. Clearly, London remains open for business.
Read more: Khan faces call to nominate London as third UberAIR launch city
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