REGENT has raised $240 million in Series B funding to move its electric seagliders from prototypes into production. The company posted the news on X and in its newsroom on August 27, saying the round is split evenly between equity and debt and lifts total capital raised to more than $340 million.
Mare Liberum and AE Ventures co-led the equity portion. Erebor Bank supplied the debt. Returning investors include Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Japan Airlines, Giant Step Capital, and DCVC.
REGENT builds wing-in-ground-effect vessels that travel just above the water. The craft take off and land like boats and cruise like low-flying aircraft. The first passenger model, Viceroy, is designed for about a dozen people. A separate unmanned vehicle, Squire, is aimed at defense and other uncrewed missions.
The company said the money will support three near-term milestones: a first human flight of the full-scale Viceroy prototype, the start of production at a 255,000-square-foot plant in Rhode Island, and progress on certification. REGENT finished construction of that factory earlier this year and has described it as the first dedicated seaglider manufacturing site.
Demand is coming from two directions. On the commercial side, REGENT says its order book spans six continents and already covers several years of planned output. Launch partners include coastal operators that want faster trips than ferries without the infrastructure of airports. On the defense side, the company cited an expanded U.S. Marine Corps contract for Viceroy, now valued at $15 million, and growing interest in Squire after recent demonstrations.
Chief executive Billy Thalheimer has described the raise as the point where REGENT shifts from development into production. The investor mix reflects that dual-use path. Maritime and aerospace funds sit alongside a defense-oriented bank founded with backing from Palmer Luckey, while Japan Airlines remains a commercial aviation partner.
Hardware Series B rounds of this size remain uncommon. REGENT is betting that a vehicle class between boat and plane can open short coastal routes that neither ferries nor regional aircraft serve well today. The next public tests will be whether Viceroy flies with people aboard and whether the Rhode Island plant can turn a large backlog into delivered vehicles.
