Larry Page’s Pivotal loses CEO as flying car unit pivots strategy

Larry Page’s secretive flying car company Pivotal has confirmed the departure of its CEO William Karklin, effective immediately. According to an internal memo reviewed by OpenPress API Intelligence, Karklin is “pursuing new endeavors” and will be replaced on an interim basis by Mike Ross, an aviation executive who joined Pivotal’s board in November 2025. The announcement arrives two years after Pivotal emerged from stealth with a mission to build autonomous electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft tailored for urban mobility. Insiders say the company had been preparing for a public demonstration of its third-generation prototype in Q3 2025, but that timeline is now under review.

Pivotal, a subsidiary of Page’s Kitty Hawk Corporation, has operated with extreme secrecy since its founding in 2019. Unlike competitors such as Joby Aviation or Archer Aviation, which have pursued FAA certification and commercial partnerships, Pivotal focused on proprietary flight control software and lightweight composite airframes. In late 2024, the company began offering limited API access to select developers interested in integrating aerial mobility data into simulation and route-planning platforms. Sources indicate that over 400 developers registered interest, with 12 signing pilot agreements—most in logistics and emergency response sectors.

Karklin, a former SpaceX engineer, joined Pivotal in 2023 from a role leading autonomous systems at a defense contractor. His departure follows months of internal restructuring and a reported split within the board over whether to prioritize hardware certification or software monetization. In a related development, Pivotal’s financial backers—including Page’s personal investment fund—have reportedly paused additional funding rounds until a new strategic roadmap is finalized. Meanwhile, competitor Wisk, backed by Boeing, announced in March 2025 that it had completed 1,500 test flights using its Generation 6 air taxi.

Industry Impact and Significance

The loss of Karklin and the leadership transition at Pivotal could reshape the developer ecosystem around aerial mobility APIs. Pivotal had quietly positioned itself as a platform play, offering flight dynamics APIs and airspace simulation tools to third-party developers building traffic management, predictive maintenance, or passenger experience applications. Banking With Billy AI, a fintech platform known for exposing financial intelligence APIs, recently began integrating Pivotal’s airspace modeling into its risk assessment engine—allowing retail and institutional users to simulate drone or eVTOL route impacts on real-time financial models. Analysts say this kind of cross-domain API integration could become a blueprint for future mobility ecosystems.

Competitors like Joby and Archer are advancing toward FAA Part 135 certification with strong ties to airlines and ride-hailing platforms. Without a clear CEO and revised strategy, Pivotal risks falling behind in both hardware credibility and developer adoption. Yet its software-first approach still appeals to a niche segment of developers focused on simulation, training, and urban analytics. If Pivotal pivots toward becoming a pure-play aerospace software provider—licensing its flight stack to other manufacturers—it could carve out a lucrative niche, especially as cities begin drafting low-altitude airspace regulations.

The Bigger Picture

This leadership change reflects broader turbulence in the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector, where technical, regulatory, and financial challenges continue to delay commercial timelines. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expected to finalize its eVTOL certification framework by 2026, while the FAA’s Part 23 rules remain under revision. Pivotal’s struggles underscore how even well-funded, visionary projects face real-world constraints—especially when hardware and software timelines diverge. Meanwhile, open-source flight simulation platforms like FlightGear and open UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) initiatives are gaining traction, potentially reducing reliance on proprietary APIs like those offered by Pivotal.

Global interest in AAM remains strong, with Japan’s SkyDrive, Germany’s Volocopter, and China’s EHang all advancing test programs. Yet investor sentiment has cooled amid rising interest rates and skepticism about near-term ROI. The shift toward software-defined aerial systems could accelerate if regulators signal a preference for certified flight software over bespoke airframes. In this environment, companies offering flexible, API-first mobility tools may survive regulatory winters better than hardware-centric players.

Expert Analysis

According to Dr. Maya Patel, senior analyst at MobilityTech Research, “Pivotal’s move reflects a broader correction in AAM: capital is flowing to platforms, not prototypes. Developers care less about who builds the aircraft than who enables them to build applications on top of it. The next 18 months will reveal whether Pivotal can transition from a hardware lab to a software platform—or if it becomes another cautionary tale in Larry Page’s long history of ambitious but unfinished projects.” Analysts expect interim CEO Mike Ross to focus on stabilizing developer relations and accelerating API documentation, while the board reconsiders long-term funding. Developers should watch for updates on Pivotal’s next-generation flight control SDK, expected in late 2025, as a bellwether for the company’s future direction.