Swedish electric plane startup Heart Aerospace is relocating its headquarters from Gothenburg to Los Angeles in a move it says will “bolster product development.”
The company will lay off all of its 75 employees in Sweden, company spokesperson Christina Zander told TNW. “Recruitment in the US is ongoing,” she added.
Founded in 2018, Heart Aerospace is building a hybrid-electric 30-passenger airliner called the ES-30. The first working prototype of the plane, X1, is scheduled to take to the skies later this year.
Tobias Bengtsdahl, a partner at VC firm Antler, told TNW that Heart’s move to the US should serve as a “wake-up call” for Europe’s tech sector.
“Europe’s over-regulation and lack of market appetite are actively driving innovation away,” said Bengtsdahl, who is based in Stockholm. “Every move like this reinforces the narrative that the US is the better place to build — that’s a problem for Europe.”
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Heart has raised almost $200mn to date, from investors including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Swedish government. Founder Anders Forslund said the strategic move would help the company “focus our resources.”
“Our customers, partners, and investors are increasingly based in the US,” said Forslund. “By consolidating our operations in Los Angeles, we can accelerate development, strengthen collaboration, and better position Heart Aerospace for the future.”
Signs of the move had been building for a while. In May 2024, Heart opened an R&D hub in Los Angeles. Last year, the company also chose the US to conduct its first test flight and secured a $4.1mn contract from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Heart Aerospace has already secured 250 orders and 191 letters of intent for the ES-30 from the likes of US carriers United Airlines and Mesa Airlines. Heart has also received letters of intent from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Sweden’s Braathens Regional Airlines, and Icelandair for a total of 96 aircraft.
While Heart is flying across the pond, Zander said the move doesn’t change the “fundamental partnerships” the company has built across Europe.
“Our Scandinavian investors and suppliers remain valued collaborators, and we continue to engage with them as we advance our technology,” she said. “The shift to the US is a strategic move to support prototype development, but our European relationships remain a vital part of Heart Aerospace’s broader ecosystem.”
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