Analysis-Lilium's fall throws spotlight on air-taxi cash crunch

(Reuters) -The race to become the first Western air-taxi company to carry passengers lost a high-profile competitor this month when Germany's Lilium succumbed to a cash crisis, throwing a fresh spotlight on a major hurdle for the fledgling industry. Almost halfway into the decade in which air-taxi makers have promised investors the first commercial flights, the demise of Lilium shows how dwindling cash balances threaten to delay the sector's aim to revolutionise urban travel. Makers of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), commonly known as air taxis, have raised roughly $13 billion since 2019, but the pace of annual investments has fallen after peaking in 2021, according to data from Alton Aviation Consultancy.