2020 WINTER ISSUE
INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY REPORT
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TECH COMPANY

TICKER SYMBOL: XERI

Hot Sector Alert

Why VTOL aircraft like HALO will dominate upcoming news cycles

Inspired by Art. Powered by Science.

Today’s magazine features Xeriant, Inc. an upstart company recently accepted into the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University to facilitate collaboration on the patented technologically advanced HALO vertical flight vehicle.

TECH BREAKTHROUGH

AVIATION'S BEST CONTRIBUTION SINCE THE HELICOPTER

ADVANCED INNOVATION

LIFE-CHANGING INVESTMENT RETURNS

GREEN • ENERGY SAVING • ALL ELECTRIC VERTICAL TAKE OFF VEHICLES ON THE WAY!

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XERIANT: XERI

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT​

The Shape of Things to come

Xeriant, Inc. (XERI) has its sights set on the target rich, emerging sustainable aviation industry, which includes disruptive technologies that are facilitating the electrification of aerial transport and the development of specialized aircraft with VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capability. Known as the “third wave of aeronautics,” the transition to cleaner, quieter, more efficient aircraft with reduced logistical footprints and greater autonomy is creating new applications and markets, expanding the future role of aviation in society for consumers and businesses.

If this sounds foreign to you, it’s because these highly capable electrically powered aircraft are finally becoming possible through advancements in structural design, propulsion systems, materials, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), batteries and high-speed connectivity.
Xeriant, short for “eXperimental Electric vaRIANT,” plans to enable point-to-point on-demand and scheduled short-haul flights in congested urban environments, called urban air mobility (UAM), by acquiring, developing, and commercializing revolutionary, eco-friendly aircraft concepts.
The report projects a total addressable market of $1.5 trillion for autonomous aircraft by 2040, creating opportunities for investors and benefiting a host of sectors along the way. ​
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General Motors Co is exploring options in the aerial taxi market, including whether to build the vehicles known colloquially as “flying cars,” as part of a push by the U.S. automaker to look for growth in related transportation markets.​
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It's the second delivery drone deal for Walmart within a week.
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Amazon and other companies hoping to revolutionize the retail world with drones have made significant strides in recent years. They’ve invented new devices and shown, at least on a limited scale, that they’re capable of flying relatively long distances and carrying the payloads necessary for packages.​
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The best contribution to aviation since the helicopter

The Halo powered-lift flying vehicle is proof positive that Xeriant is dedicated to advancing aeronautical safety and performance through new and innovative concepts. Halo’s patented design features a pivoting ring-wing, dual shrouded contra-rotating impellers, a central axle-mounted payload compartment and the ability to take off or land on almost any surface, including water.
Artists renderings

Aurora Flight Sciences, an aerospace company acquired by Boeing in 2017, has even described Halo as “the best contribution to aviation since the helicopter.”

Halo’s innovative VTOL platform has the potential to become an aeronautical engineering breakthrough, with disruptive implications for the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) or drone industry and the future of air transportation in general. Since the 1950’s, ducted fan VTOL aircraft have struggled to achieve a smooth transition between vertical and level cruise flight modes due to aerodynamic drag from asymmetric airflows and pressure differentials across the duct opening at high angles of attack or in crosswinds, which cause pitching and reduced forward speed. The seamless transition from vertical to forward flight accomplished through Halo’s pivoting ring-wing and integrated lift fan system would represent a significant advancement in the development of these types of aircraft.
Among Halo’s unique design features are its ducted fan propulsion, a central cockpit compartment or fuselage, and a load-sharing axle which bridges the annular wing and fuselage. Lift produced by the airfoil wing structure will equal or exceed lift generated from the impellers in forward flight.
Halo is a scalable system that may be configured for different sizes depending on the application, from a small frame UAV to potentially a large frame cargo or passenger transport aircraft. Its central payload section can take any number of shapes including spherical, oval or even teardrop, which approximates an airfoil with the characteristics of a lifting body.
The payload compartment, either fixed or pivotally mounted on the axle, has been designed to maintain a generally upright orientation under normal operating parameters through an attitude control system using gyro-assisted stabilization technology, and through weight distribution, by positioning its center of gravity or balancing point generally in the lower half.
In addition to increased efficiency from shared disc loading, the dual contra-rotating impellers (rotating in opposite directions) would balance the effects of torque. Ducting or shrouding the impeller blades within the ring-wing structure is a critical safety feature, particularly on the ground, and provides the aircraft with the ability to operate in closer proximity to obstacles such as buildings, which expands its applicability in urban environments.
Halo aircraft are being designed to achieve optimal safety, reliability and efficiency while matching or exceeding performance levels of existing VTOL aircraft in terms of range, maneuverability, logistical footprint, payload, ceiling, operational flexibility and speed.
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Introducing a New Aerial Platform That Will Redefine Mobility

ALPHA AND MANTA

The Halo platform could potentially target numerous commercial and military aviation applications, given its anticipated operational advantages and capabilities compared with the helicopter and other technologies. Alpha and Manta are the two currently slated Halo variants, differentiated by their payload or fuselage section configurations as well as by their proposed functions. Halo Alpha, with its spherical center payload compartment, will be more suited for commercial UAV applications and for short-haul transport. Halo Manta, with its enhanced speed and stealth features and wedge-shaped fuselage which approximates an airfoil, is intended for military operations. Both Alpha and Manta are designed to be scalable and used for either unmanned or manned systems. Xeriant plans to introduce Halo as a small-scale Alpha UAV for the civilian aviation market, operating under FAA’s Part 107 regulations.
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The strategy for the initial introduction of Halo as a small Alpha UAV includes low regulatory and certification hurdles, reduced development costs, and a relatively short timeline to market. Alpha, with its globular, high visibility medial fuselage, is designed for hemispherical viewing and is primarily intended for commercial applications such as surveillance and imagery. Improved safety on the ground, low noise levels and the ability to operate in more confined environments are among Alpha’s many advantages over typical open rotor UAVs.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently awarded Halo a second utility patent (U.S. Patent No. 10,814,974), which follows a previous utility patent (U.S. Patent No. 10,450,063) issued in October 2019 and the original provisional application filed back in 2007. Both utility patents are retroactive to Halo’s original continuation patent application date, and therefore have the benefit of preceding numerous drone or UAV patent filings and claims.
Xeriant plans to continue testing the Halo platform using both virtual and physical prototypes and will begin focusing on control and stabilization systems. Following the successful performance and operation of the small Alpha UAV, Xeriant will initiate the design process for a larger scale, optionally piloted version of Alpha, which will address the urban air taxi and rapid cargo delivery services market.
Its futuristic design, unlike any existing UAV configuration, as well as its anticipated superior safety and operating capabilities, should strongly position Halo within the high-performance commercial UAV market segment.
Designed for speed, stealth, payload capacity, endurance (loiter) and extended range, Halo Manta is envisioned to ultimately become part of the DOD’s arsenal, enhancing its aerial capabilities in support of operational, strategic or tactical objectives. Manta’s airfoil shaped fuselage or payload compartment offers less drag and a reduced radar profile. It is anticipated that the Halo Manta UAV will carry payloads that include advanced systems for ISR, target acquisition, communications and/or attack missions, most likely in close coordination with the U.S. military, including DARPA, and integrated within existing defensive and offensive support operations.
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Halo Manta’s shape and structural composition are to intended to reduce its infrared, acoustic and vibration signatures. Internally housed propulsion systems and ducted impellers will inherently lower its radar profile in addition to the use of radar-absorbing materials and various suppression techniques. Halo’s proposed amphibious variant, with VTOL capability on water, would add another dimension to its military uses.
A significantly larger version of Halo Manta, potentially for personnel or heavy lift cargo transport, may be designed to deliver troops, equipment and supplies or for insertion/extraction pararescue (PJ) operations.
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Inspired by Art. Powered by Science.

Xeriant (XERI) is taking off and with Morgan Stanley forecasting that the autonomous urban aircraft market will grow to $1.5 trillion, by 2040, this is a flight that you want to catch.

Xeriant's aggressive growth blueprint includes plans to acquire multiple strategic assets

Another reason to love XERI is its plan to redefine the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and drone spaces. Plus, its proven management team has identified multiple opportunities and plans to go on a feeding frenzy, expanding their technological and industry footprint by smartly rolling up companies that are positioned to excel in the current aviation industry climate.
Xeriant intends to acquire strategic interests in the most promising of these technological breakthroughs and next-generation aircraft configurations, leveraging the synergies and collective expertise of its growing international network of industry partnerships to accelerate the development of economically viable products that address specific market demands.

The team behind this bold approach has a proven history of big wins, which should help pull some heavy hitters into Xeriant.

If Xeriant successfully executes its strategy, it could follow in the footsteps of other forward looking transportation startups, like electric truck company Hyliion Inc. (NYSE:SHLL), which recently merged with Tortoise Acquisition Corp., and electric car company NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO).
We’re seeing opportunities for a growing fleet of electric, shared, and autonomous VTOL aircraft or other large terrestrial drones.​
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It’s a market that should continue to mature during this decade and then boom globally.
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“There seem to be a lot of companies drawn to the space from the tech sector where the attitude is all about challenging convention and while this can be healthy — all industries need a shakeup from time to time — there are a lot of rules and regulations in aerospace for a good reason,” Daniel Wiegand, Lilium founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand, Lilium founder and CEO ​
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The team is headed by Keith Duffy, who as CEO founded and led two companies, a software development company and a biotech company, that is now trading on NASDAQ.
Despite this CEO’s success over the years, most investors have yet to even hear this company’s name!
Did you miss the affordable Tesla IPO shares, because you wanted to wait until they perfected their technology and become profitable? If you would have bought TSLA, and held through the duration, you could have turned a small investment into a whopping pile of cash.
If Duffy knocks it out of the park again, early discoverers like you may see life-changing investment returns.
That’s right… If you act now, you can stake your claim while this small company is still flying under the radar.
Xeriant’s holding company structure will enable rapid growth through the acquisition of assets in a number of entities at various stages of maturity, including well-established revenue-generating enterprises, and through strategic investments and licensing arrangements.
This time, management will be working the very fertile fields of civilian and military air transport, as rapid advances in technology enable more and more capability to be placed on smaller airframes, creating more potential situations for their deployment.
UAVs have proven to be vital to the military due to their multiple advantages, the most obvious of which is reducing casualties in high risk battlefield environments. Their military role continues to expand from ISR operations to munitions delivery, electronic attack, bomb detection, communications, combat search and rescue and logistics.
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Breaking the Mold

Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

What most people know about drones is from watching our hobbyist neighbors flying their drones around the neighborhood, but drones are generating a ton of industry buzz, because most businesses and governments are just entering mass adoption phase.
And the crisis seems to be expediting the significant growth outlook, as, according to the Drones in the Global Power and Utilities Industry, Forecast to 2030 report, “Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently finding application opportunities across various commercial businesses and are poised to impact multiple industry verticals in various capacities. Drone applications are emerging in various sectors such as agriculture, mining, oil and gas (O&G), construction, utilities and safety & security.”

“Technological advancements are making it easier to execute complex and diverse data gathering exercises. Innovation in packaged software products and data visualization makes the process more accessible, efficient and convenient to end-users. The evolution of drones over the last 5 years and the convergence of AI, technological innovations, analytics, and IoT will drive the widespread adoption of drone technology over the course of the next decade.”

Drones are already a key tool in various military, security, industrial and agricultural applications, but the upcoming commercial uses will soon blow our minds.
Yes, it’s not just Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Northrop Grunman (NYSE:NOC) looking to bank on the drone industry, as major household names, ranging from Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to Sony (SNE) to GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), are making their moves.
Of course, just mentioning some of those companies is probably enough to get the investment bankers worked up, but there’s a lot more to this space and Duffy is looking to stake his claim.
Investment in this industry is growing significantly, as investment funds, big technology firms and wealthy individuals plow into this sector.
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A Quantum Leap in Air Transportation

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) reported that air domain only projects account for over $5 billion in FY20, or 61% of the overall Department of Defense (DOD) funding request for unmanned systems. DOD is looking specifically at UAVs that can improve the situational awareness of small units and perform complex missions in urban environments, such as reconnoitering a building, the bulk of which will be smaller, lighter, and more agile aircraft.
The futuristic idea of on-demand air taxis or “flying cars,” depicted in science fiction, is fast becoming a reality due to technological advancements in VTOL aircraft design, power systems, AI and fly-by-wire automation.
A series of basic, functioning UAV prototypes were built as part of Halo’s early development process, to gain an understanding of the structural and mechanical issues and for “proof of concept” demonstrations to establish the platform’s foundational validity. The design of these early stage Halo UAV prototypes was generally consistent with the patent application filing and drawings, and featured the main elements, such as the payload compartment, central axle, ring wing and impeller powered with remotely controlled battery powered motors and a gear drive system.
Electric aircraft are being considered for regional routes, flights generally less than 500 miles between smaller regional airports, which account for nearly half of all global flights. These intercity flights will soon be within the range of most proposed electrically powered aircraft.
The federal government maintains about 3,000 general aviation airports that have no scheduled passenger flights, but can be developed for point-to-point electrically powered aircraft service.
Among the advantages of electric aircraft are clean emissions, better acoustics, less complex flight controls, autonomous capability, increased safety on the ground, superior maneuverability and reduced expenses related to operations, maintenance and repair.
Stakeholders shaping the integration of electric aircraft, and advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles in general, include aircraft manufacturers, ridesharing companies, governmental regulatory agencies and civil transportation authorities, all of whom are working toward establishing standards and overcoming the multitude of issues involved with AAM implementation.
Helicopters have performance limitations based on their fundamental flight principles. Due to a condition called retreating blade stall, also known as dissymmetry of lift, helicopters have a maximum forward speed of about 250 miles per hour. They also produce high noise levels, due primarily to rotor blade vortex interaction and vibration.
The United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) projects that aviation emissions will roughly triple by 2050 if sustainability measures are not adopted. The aviation industry, including the FAA and Airlines for America in the U.S. and the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe, has set a goal of stabilizing emissions over the next 30 years, which includes a 75% reduction in CO2, a 90% reduction in NOX and a 65% percent reduction in perceived noise. According to Proponent, a leading aerospace distribution company, the aerospace industry spends about $15 billion each year on sustainability and efficiency related research and development.
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A New Frontier in Aviation Technology

ResearchAndMarkets recently reported that, in 2019, a total of $1.2 billion was invested through 157 drone deals, with total global investment value growing at 21% CAGR.

Another report stated that the "unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% from 2020 to 2027 to reach $21.8 billion by 2027.”

Urban Air Mobility (UAM), or on-demand aviation, is an emerging segment of the aviation industry that generally refers to point-to-point passenger and cargo flights in congested urban areas using advanced electrically powered aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL).
A key feature of UAM which is integral to the aircraft’s design requirements is minimizing environmental impact through low noise levels, clean emissions and a reduced logistical footprint.
When asked about air taxis in a Bloomberg News interview, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg stated, “I think it will happen faster than any of us understand.”

Goldman Sachs estimates an air taxi market would be valued at $70 billion annually” by 2035.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

UBER ELEVATE

Uber Elevate is an offshoot of the leading ridesharing company and they partnered with Aurora Flight Sciences (remember what this Boeing subsidiary said about Halo?), Bell, and others, to develop concepts for their eVTOL aircraft, called UberAir.

POP.UP NEXT

Audi, Airbus and Italdesign have partnered to build and commercialize their “Pop.Up Next” modular driving and flying hybrid vehicle.

INTEL

Among Intel’s moves in the drone sector was its Ascending Technologies acquisition and plans to make drones smarter and more connected.

JOBY AVIATION

Joby Aviation, a California-based start-up that’s working on four-passenger air taxi prototypes, attracted about $130 million in funding from companies like IntelCapital, Toyota AI Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, a prominent Tesla backer and Space Exploration Technologies, is also backed by Google co-founder and Alphabet CEO Larry Page.

AMAZON PRIME AIR

CNBC reported that Amazon will move forward with a trial to deliver goods “beyond the visual line of sight of the operator.”

GOOGLE WING

The FAA approved several drone delivery operations, including Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google Wing

Accel invested in DJI at an $8 billion valuation and venture firm, Sequoia Capital, is purportedly invested in DJI.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, China DJI is the world’s leading manufacturer of drones for aerial photography and accounts for over 70% of the global drone market. Founded in 2006 in founder Frank Wang’s university dorm room, the copany now has over 14,000 employees and 17 offices worldwide.

“We expect to see an increasing number of investments into drone delivery companies, as the market not only grows in terms of companies and solutions but also matures in terms of scale of operations, certification and sophistication of solutions available. With the recent Part 135 approvals given to Wing and UPS Flight Forward, and other regulatory milestones across the globe, this space will grow significantly this year,” according to Drone Industry Insights.
“We expect to see an increasing number of investments into drone delivery companies, as the market not only grows in terms of companies and solutions but also matures in terms of scale of operations, certification and sophistication of solutions available. With the recent Part 135 approvals given to Wing and UPS Flight Forward, and other regulatory milestones across the globe, this space will grow significantly this year,” according to Drone Industry Insights.

Of course, these package delivery behemoths won’t be alone.

After U.S. drone registrations surpassed 1 million in 2018, registrations more than doubled to 2.4 million last year, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics. Teal Group projects that the world civil drone market will triple over the next decade, driven by the commercial segment which will increase six-fold to $9.5 billion in annual sales by 2028.
While the hobbyists are typically into joyriding, photography and racing, the professional uses include wildfire monitoring, construction, insurance, communications, delivery, film making, agriculture, conservation, search and rescue, energy infrastructure, mapping, traffic control, precision farming, environmental projects and even archaeology.
On the military front, the Center for Study of the Drone at Bard College reports the U.S. Department of Defense fiscal 2019 budget request called for $9.39 billion for unmanned aircraft systems, up from $7.5 billion in 2018. This growth is expected to continue as advancements in drone technologies progress and enable further applications in military operations.
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THE FINAL FRONTIER

Star Trek’s famous opening line proclaimed “Space, the final frontier,” but the intro’s even more audacious conclusion, “To boldly go where no man has gone before”, is the type of challenge that the renegades accept and change our world.

While most choose to keep their heads in the clouds, a few, like Musk, Branson and Bezos, seem to have taken this line as a personal dare to the point that they’re actually making this happen.

With that in mind, CEO Keith Duffy structured Xeriant to accelerate the development of disruptive technologies that impact the future of aerospace.
Air taxis or flying cars have always been thought to be the natural evolution in personal transportation in the modern world (more George Jetson than Star Wars).
Just as satellites enabled the military to expand drone use, today’s tech is opening up autonomous cars and trucks to massive investment flows, into companies looking to reduce carbon emissions, oil dependency, and driver errors.
The green rush is finally evolving so that improved eco-friendly technologies are becoming easier to implement. Battery and electric vehicle progress is accelerating, making air taxis the natural next step in the evolutionary chain.
Don’t take my word for it… Look at the companies that are pouring billions into this space and the doubters who will end up getting crushed by the Musks and other visionaries working in this sector. Companies cannot afford to be complacent, and their only choice will be to either evolve or fade away, like relics of the past industrial revolutions.
We are in a tech revolution and the developers don’t see that vehicles are just cars, but rather tech hubs; kind of like giant iPhones that take us from point A to point B. These travel hubs are only possible with today’s advanced AI, software and sensory optics, which optimize fuel efficiency, safety and autonomy. It won’t be long before the driver’s seat is just another passenger seat.
Our cities are becoming increasingly congested and impacted by harmful fuel emissions, and the dreaded public transportation system provides little relief. But this may all change with the development of electric and autonomous vehicles which will use mapping and logistics technologies to identify the safest, quickest, and most efficient routes to our destinations.

Air Taxis and drones help solve huge problems

The use air taxis and drones will open up our underutilized airspace, creating new opportunities and revenue streams, much like the expansion of the railways that won the west in the 1800s. Aerial routes will be plotted for these new vehicles to safely and conveniently move passengers and cargo to their desire destinations.
Research firm INRIX says “Traffic Jams cost the US $87 Billion in lost productivity in 2018,” while, according to Texas A&M Transportation Institute, traffic jams cost the US economy $179 Billion dollars each year.
Air taxis and drones making deliveries in cities will help to cut down on traffic by keeping fewer trucks on the congested roads, which will have the added benefits of reducing emissions and saving billions of dollars in lost productivity costs.
And we all know the implications of taking a piece of the $700 billion dollar U.S. trucking industry, which in 2017 posted higher revenues than the GDP of more than 150 nations.

How does XERI fit into all of this?

  1. Xeriant’s proven management team specifically structured the Company to become a force in the budding sustainable aviation space.

  2. XERI is targeting transportation opportunities in the point-to-point on demand market, scheduled short-haul flights, and congested urban routes.

  3. The patented Halo concept doesn’t just look cool; it looks like it can take aviation into a new era to be an amazing technology, which would make it “the best contribution to aviation since the helicopter.”

  4. Xeriant is designing specialized VTOL aircraft that enables a seamless transition from vertical to forward flight, which, which overcome the aerodynamic drag from asymmetric airflows and cross pressure differentials that has limited aircraft design.

  5. The ring-wing structure overcomes these limitations, so that XERI can reduce logistical footprints and safely traverse the urban air mobility skyscape. superior maneuverability.

  6. XERI’s innovative scalable and versatile designs are ideal for heavy lift payload and/or passenger transport aircraft.

  7. Low noise levels and vibration signature may take Xeriant where others are nonstarters.

  8. Clean emissions.

  9. Reduced maintenance, repair and operation expenses.

  10. Entering a wide open market, just as the big money is pouring into this space.

Among the many aerospace related technologies targeted by Xeriant - XERI Xeriant - XERI is an innovative aerial platform for ridesharing and package delivery, which is likely to attract key industry players.

TSLA has been on fire with their cars and recent stock split, and its success has brought in billions in competition from other startups like Nikola, Tortoise and NIO.
NKLA - Nikola
SHLL- Tortoise
NIO – Nio, Inc.

These companies are just the beginning, as we are sure to see more entries into the space.

Companies like UBER and LYFT, who are already working on autonomous cars, would be likely candidates to invest in future technologies for air taxis and other short hop commute vehicles.
UBER - Uber
LYFT - Lyft
These technologies are early stage concepts that conjure up ideas of the utopian future we continue to toy with in our imaginations – the day when we can catch a quick flight across town with no traffic.

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