Joby Aviation has reached a tentative agreement with investors and Saudi Arabian conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) to distribute up to 200 electric aircraft worth about $1 billion in the coming years.

If finalized, the partnership could provide Joby with a fast road to profit from its electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles in Saudi Arabia.

"One question people ask is, how will you make a profit, and how quickly will this happen?" Paul Sciarra, executive chairman of Joby's board, told TechCrunch, who is best known for his co-founded Pinterest. "And I think that shows that with direct sales, there is a way to reduce costs early by considering distribution partners in a given location. This is the first one we hope is a lot of announcements in that aspect."

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore Tuesday's distribution agreement. While the MoU is not entirely a signed and sealed deal, sources familiar with the agreement say they will be able to share more specific details later this year.

The deal will be one of the earliest examples of EVTOL startups partnering with aircraft landing distributors. Joby also plans to own and operate its own aircraft in the U.S. and other markets, and works with airlines and other airlines in countries such as Japan.

Paul Sciarra, executive chairman of Joby's board and co-founder of Pinterest, said ALJ is an ideal partner for a number of reasons. First, the company's relationship with Toyota - just ended its first $250 million stock investment in Joby. ALJ became the exclusive publisher of Toyota, Saudi Arabia in 1955 and became one of the largest independent Toyota and Lexus distributors in the world. ALJ also participated in Joby's 2020 Toyota-led Series C Funding Round.

In addition to the common connection, ALJ has a lot of infrastructure not only in the sales process, but also for support, pilot training and maintenance, Sciarra said. ”

"It will be crucial to ensure that sales are not only cut, but also succeed in the long-term arc," Sciarra told TechCrunch.

He noted that as a diverse network of 80 years of history, ALJ is also close to the Saudi government and many potential clients, including restoration and tourism projects such as the Red Sea Project and Alula Project.

Despite the promising partnership in Saudi Arabia, Joey's listing strategy will be launched in Dubai next year and follows the U.S. market.

"This shows how we deepen some of the initial markets outside the funnel," Sciarra said. "This structure, we find the right local partners that can help us sell and support, which will be a way for us to get into geographic locations that may not be on our list, but can allow us to monetize them faster."

Jomi reached an agreement with AFJ on the level of cooperation between the U.S. government and Saudi Arabia in the fields of artificial intelligence, technology infrastructure and energy. According to the White House, Saudi Arabian company DataVolt has agreed to invest $20 billion in U.S. AI data centers and energy infrastructure, as well as US tech giants such as Google, Oracle, Salesforce, AMD and Uber have pledged to invest $80 billion in transformative technologies in both countries.