Arrivo Corporation was a startup company in Los Angeles, California that was working to commercialize a Hyperloop. In November 2017 they moved to a more standard maglev model, in that their development plans no longer contained an essential component of a hyperloop - the vacuum tube. In November 2017, it announced the change of technical direction with a plan for a 200 mph maglev system in Colorado that would transport automobiles to and from Denver International Airport. This system would have used neither tunnels or tubes, nor vacuum, both elements of other Hyperloop systems. The first phase was the establishment of a $10 million dollar development facility in Commerce City, Colorado, followed by construction of a half-mile demonstration track, then the first commercial link from Aurora to the airport. On December 14th 2018 Technology news site The Verge reported Arrivo was shutting down, due to being unable to secure Series A funding.
History
Arrivo was founded in 2016, after an acrimonious departure of most of Arrivo's management team from Hyperloop One. A resulting lawsuit was settled. The company's trademark application described its mission as: "Financial advisory and consultancy services namely, provide expert project analysis in the field of transportation." In a June 2017 interview, founder BamBrogan reported the company had twenty employees. In July, USA Today reported Arrivo as one of three top contenders in the hyperloop field.
Colorado maglev project
Arrivo has agreed to lease offices in an unused toll plaza on E-470 in Commerce City, Colorado, intending to employ forty engineers. The second phase would have been the erection of a half-mile maglev test track, but not the evacuated tube that was a big part of Elon Musk's original hyperloop proposal. The state has offered $760,000 in tax incentives to lure Arrivo. At a press conference, Brogan BamBrogan described a system that would move automobiles from downtown Denver to the airport at the same price as the tolls on Pena Boulevard, the airport highway. It would, he said, have a payback period of ten years. The company planned to break ground on the first commercial leg, from Aurora to the airport, in 2019, with an opening in 2021.
Technology
The company has described a sled for automobiles; other elements of the technology with the exception of the tube and vacuum are likely to be similar to maglev. In March 2017 the company claimed it could have an operational hyperloop within three years. In November 2017, the company announced that it was no longer developing vacuum tubes and was focused on maglev rail technology.
Funding
In 2017, Arrivo said it had "'initial funding in place,' but did not reveal how much capital it had secured or the source of financial support." BamBrogan expected revenue-generating projects within three years, with a "classic infrastructure model". In July 2018, it announced that it had received $1 billion credit from Genertec America.
Management
The lead founder of Arrivo is Brogan BamBrogan, formerly founder and chief engineer at Hyperloop One and SpaceX.
