Boom Supersonic says it's nearing first flight test

• More than $120 million in state and local incentives could be awarded to the company, if it meets its hiring goal of 1,750 workers by 2030 and invests more than $500 million at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro.
• Separately, a large portion of state money is going into improving the infrastructure at PTI.

State of play: The Greensboro factory is now ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year, a spokesperson for the company said.

Details: Boom said Thursday that ongoing ground tests and clearances from the Federal Aviation Administration should allow it to conduct its prototype jet's first flight at the Mojave Air & Space Port later this year.

• The Denver-based company also announced that Saudi Arabia's NEOM Investment Fund had invested an undisclosed amount of money into the company, bringing its total funding to more than $700 million.
• Previously, its total funding was estimated at $208 million, according to the venture capital database Crunchbase.