I would speculate that Bell has looked at the future and sees domestic service helicopters at risk of being supplanted by electric VTOL aircraft. In a case where your livelihood is at stake, having some control over the outcome forces you to be proactive. In case of failure, you lose some venture capital. In case of success, you are the agent that replaces yourself.
Someone who has compiled a portfolio of accurate past predictions on the success/failure of aerospace programs might be able to find lucrative employment advising companies like Bell. Otherwise, I would expect Bell to rely on subject matter experts in the fields of electric motors, batteries, noise mitigation, aerodynamics, and the like as a basic process of due diligence in assessing what is feasible and whether it makes sense to proceed.
