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IPFS News Link • Transportation

Hyperloop One rebrands as 'Virgin Hyperloop One' after investment by Richard Branson

• https://www.theverge.com, by Andrew J. Hawkins

Hyperloop One just got a major vote of confidence from one of the world's most recognizable billionaire industrialists not named Elon Musk. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson is investing in the super fast transport system and will be joining Hyperloop One's board of directors, the two companies announced today. As a result, the company is rebranding as "Virgin Hyperloop One." 

"As a train owner, I felt this is something that I want to be able to operate," Branson said to CNBC. "At the moment our trains are limited to 125 miles an hour... There are consumers, for instance, that would love to go from London to Edinburgh in roughly 45 minutes. And that will be possible [with hyperloop]."

Last month, Hyperloop One announced it raised an additional $85 million in financing, bringing its total haul to $245 million and a likely valuation of more than $700 million. Branson declined to break out his own investment from that haul, CNBC said. 

Nonetheless, that's a lot of money for a transportation startup with no commercial product, no revenue stream, no government approval, and no proof that its ultrafast transit system would even be safe for human passengers. The company has managed to convince a variety of wealthy backers and governments to buy into their fantastical dream of moving people and packages through airless tubes at near-supersonic speeds. 


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