Pivotal, Larry Page's flying car startup, loses its CEO after four years

What's the deal? Ken Karklin has stepped down as chief executive officer of Pivotal, the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) startup backed by GoogleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → co-founder Larry Page. Karklin, who led the company for more than four years, is "pursuing new endeavors," Pivotal said, without elaborating.

Who takes over? Mike Ross, an aviation executive who joined Pivotal's board in November 2025, will serve as interim CEO. "Our team, our priorities, and our roadmap remain steady through this transition," Ross said, adding that he looks forward to bringing the company's fourth-generation Helix aircraft to market.

What does Pivotal do? The company builds lightweight electric personal aircraft. Its single-seat Helix, which doesn't require a pilot's license and starts at around $200,000, went on sale two years ago.

What's the track record? Pivotal has also spent years developing BlackFly, an aircraft aimed at defense and first-responder use. Last month, BlackFly responded to an emergency in North Carolina for the first time, beating an ambulance to the call by 20 minutes, the company said. BlackFly has flown more than 10,000 times.

Why it matters: Pivotal is one of several companies selected for the Federal Aviation Administration's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, which was created to increase testing of such aircraft nationwide.

The signal: Karklin's exit lands as eVTOL firms push past prototypes toward commercial reality. "This industry has moved past prototypes and press releases; it's now operating in the real world, under real constraints," Karklin said. A leadership change at a Page-backed pioneer tests whether that momentum can hold through the transition.

Read more: TechCrunch

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