AutoFlight’s five-tonne Matrix bets on heavy payloads and regional range to prove the case for electric flight
Updated
February 10, 2026 12:56 PM
A multiroter flying through a blue sky. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
The nascent industry of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has long been defined by a specific set of limitations: small payloads, short distances and a primary focus on urban air taxis. AutoFlight, a Chinese aviation startup, recently moved to shift that narrative by unveiling "Matrix," a five-tonne aircraft that represents a significant leap in scale for electric aviation.
In a demonstration at the company’s flight test center, the Matrix completed a full transition flight—the technically demanding process of switching from vertical lift-off to forward wing-born flight and back to a vertical landing. While small-scale drones and four-seat prototypes have become increasingly common, this marks the first time an electric aircraft of this mass has successfully executed the maneuver.
The sheer scale of the Matrix places it in a different category than the "flying cars" currently being tested for hops over city traffic. With a maximum takeoff weight of 5,700 kilograms (roughly 12,500 pounds), the aircraft has the footprint of a traditional regional turboprop, boasting a 20-meter wingspan. Its size allows for configurations that the industry has previously struggled to accommodate, including a ten-seat business class cabin or a cargo hold capable of carrying 1,500 kilograms of freight.
This increased capacity is more than just a feat of engineering; it is a direct attempt to solve the financial hurdles that have plagued the sector, specifically addressing the skepticism industry analysts have often expressed regarding the economic viability of smaller eVTOLs. These critics frequently cite the high cost of operation relative to the low passenger count as a barrier to entry.
AutoFlight’s founder and CEO, Tian Yu, suggested the Matrix is a direct response to those concerns. “Matrix is not just a rising star in the aviation industry, but also an ambitious disruptor,” Yu stated. “It will eliminate the industry perception that eVTOL = short-haul, low payload and reshape the rules of eVTOL routes. Through economies of scale, it significantly reduces transportation costs per seat-kilometer and per ton-kilometer, thus revolutionizing costs and driving profitability.”
To achieve this, the aircraft utilizes a "lift and cruise" configuration. In simple terms, this means the plane uses one set of dedicated rotors to lift it off the ground like a helicopter, but once it reaches a certain speed, it uses a separate propeller to fly forward like a traditional airplane, allowing the wings to provide the lift. This design is paired with a distinctive "triplane" layout—three layers of wings—and a six-arm structure to keep the massive frame stable.
These features allow the Matrix to serve a variety of roles. For the "low-altitude economy" being promoted by Chinese regulators, the startup is offering a pure electric model with a 250-kilometer range for regional hops, alongside a hybrid-electric version capable of traveling 1,500 kilometers. The latter version, equipped with a forward-opening door to fit standard air freight containers, targets a logistics sector still heavily reliant on carbon-intensive trucking.
However, the road to commercial flight remains a steep one. Despite the successful flight demonstration, AutoFlight faces the same formidable headwinds as its competitors, such as a complex global regulatory landscape and the rigorous demands of airworthiness certification. While the Matrix validates the company's high-power propulsion, moving from a test-center demonstration to a commercial fleet will require years of safety data.
Nevertheless, the debut of the Matrix signals a maturation of the startup’s ambitions. Having previously developed smaller models for autonomous logistics and urban mobility, AutoFlight is now betting that the future of electric flight isn't just in avoiding gridlock, but in hauling the weight of regional commerce. Whether the infrastructure and regulators are ready to accommodate a five-tonne electric disruptor remains the industry's unanswered question.
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As global financial landscapes shift, Noah outlines a new AI-first approach to helping families protect and grow their wealth.
Updated
January 8, 2026 6:31 PM
Noah’s Black Diamond Summit. PHOTO: ARK WEALTH
Noah Holdings, one of Asia’s leading wealth management firms serving global Chinese high-net-worth families, hosted its annual Black Diamond Summit in Macau from December 7–11. The city has become a significant gathering place for Noah’s community, where clients, partners, and experts converge each year to explore how global trends are transforming wealth and family life. This year’s theme, “AI Together, Co-Generating the Future”, set the tone for a conversation about how modern wealth management must adapt in an age defined by artificial intelligence.
More than 3,000 attendees joined discussions that connected technology, global mobility, and long-term family planning. The Summit built on earlier sessions held in Shanghai, creating a continuous dialogue around one central question: how can families prepare for a world that is becoming more digital, more complex and more interconnected?
A major moment came when Noah introduced “Noya”, its new AI Relationship Manager. Noya is now part of the upgraded iARK Hong Kong and Singapore apps. It is built to support licensed human advisors, not replace them. The goal is simple: combine human judgment with AI intelligence to help clients understand their wealth more clearly and manage it across borders. Noya offers real-time insights, deeper personalisation, cleaner access to global financial information, smoother coordination between regions, and end-to-end execution through Noah’s global booking centres.
The Summit’s tone shifted toward long-term thinking when Co-Founder and Chairwoman Norah Wang delivered her keynote, “From Chaos to Clarity: Building a Global Operating System for Wealth Management”. She reflected on twenty years of serving more than 400,000 clients and explained that families today face new pressures. As she put it, “The real pain point for Chinese families today is not investment performance, but navigating the growing complexities of a global lifestyle”. Her message was straightforward: wealth is no longer just about returns. It is about managing uncertainty in a world where technology, geopolitics, and mobility collide.
Wang described how two major shifts have shaped modern wealth—first the Internet Era, which changed how people built wealth, and now what she calls the AI Civilisation Era, which is changing how people must protect it. She outlined the forces that influence today’s decisions: geopolitical shifts, persistent inflation, the rising importance of security and supply-chain technologies, the spread of AI, and the need for stronger family governance across generations. Each of these factors adds complexity, and families need tools that help them see the bigger picture.
To respond to this reality, Noah presented its integrated global wealth infrastructure. It is built on three pillars:
Together, these pillars function as an AI-supported system designed to simplify global complexity and help families preserve long-term stability.
One of the most discussed conversations featured Noah’s CEO, Zander Yin, and Tony Shale, Co-Founder & Chairman of Asian Private Banker China. They spoke about how AI is transforming private banking in Asia. Their view was that wealth management is moving from a product-centred model to one led by insight, trust, and human-tech collaboration. AI may accelerate analysis, but human expertise will continue to guide judgment, relationships, and long-term strategy.
The closing message of the Summit centred on redefining what prosperity means in an AI-driven age. For Noah, wealth is no longer a destination. It is an ongoing journey through a world that is increasingly fast-moving and unpredictable. As Wang noted, “With AI reshaping the very foundations of civilisation, wealth and financial freedom represent not a static endpoint, but a continuous journey. Here, we find our purpose: to help global Chinese investors navigate an increasingly complex world and achieve true prosperity, supported by resilient wealth management infrastructure and deep human expertise”.
The Summit ended on that note—a reminder that the future of wealth is not only about financial assets, but about clarity, confidence and the ability to adapt as the world transforms.