AAM Will Scale Only as Fast as Its Infrastructure

The AAM Index tracks the six OEMs at the center of the sector’s commercialization story: Joby, BETA, Archer, Vertical Aerospace, New Horizon Aircraft, and EHang. But the latest UAM Geomatics white paper makes an important point for investors and industry observers alike: aircraft progress alone will not determine the pace of market creation. Infrastructure will.

According to the paper, the U.S. will require approximately $16.6 billion in AAM infrastructure investment through 2045 to support peak demand across 62 key metropolitan markets, representing roughly 60% of the U.S. population. That total includes $11.2 billion for ground infrastructure such as vertiports, charging systems, airport passenger facilities, and utility upgrades, plus $5.4 billion for air traffic control modernization, surveillance, communications, and airspace management capabilities.

That matters for the AAM Index because it reframes how the market should think about OEM value. Certification milestones, flight testing, and regulatory progress remain essential, but they are only one pillar of commercialization. The white paper argues that three systems must mature in parallel: aircraft certification, operational frameworks, and infrastructure deployment. If infrastructure lags, even certified aircraft may enter markets that are not ready to support the utilization, frequency, and passenger volumes needed for sustainable economics.

The paper also quantifies the upside if that infrastructure is built. UAM Geomatics estimates a $210+ billion operator revenue opportunity across five passenger use cases over the next 20+ years, with total economic impact reaching $330+ billion. In that context, the $16.6 billion infrastructure requirement looks less like a barrier and more like market-enabling capital. The report further argues that this investment is modest relative to major U.S. transportation projects and that public-private partnerships are the most practical path forward.

For the AAM Index, the takeaway is clear: investors should watch not only the aircraft, but also the buildout around them. Vertiports, charging networks, urban operating corridors, and traffic-management systems may become just as important to long-term value creation as certification headlines. In other words, the next phase of AAM will not be defined only by who can fly first, but by who can scale into a functioning network. That is the lens through which the Index should be read.