The Boeing Company and Archer Aviation Inc. recently announced the companies have signed definitive agreements in which Archer will acquire Boeingโs Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu subsidiaries. The deal will combine complementary capabilities developed over decades in autonomy, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) โ creating a groundbreaking end-to-end physical AI platform for aerospace and defense.
Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu have pioneered and incubated core autonomous flight technologies for the future that, in combination with Archerโs air taxi, UAS and AI technologies, will bring new and innovative solutions to the market. These companies, with nearly two million combined flight hours, are expected to bring a deep autonomy foundation to Archerโs ZEE artificial intelligence platform. This positions Archer to deliver an end-to-end physical AI platform across commercial aerospace, defense and air traffic management that can lead the next generation of aviation.
- Adds a profitable defense business generating over $200M in annual revenue, with operations across 35 countries, to Archerโs portfolio.
- Combines Wisk, SkyGrid and Insituโs pioneering autonomy and airspace intelligence software with Archerโs leading purpose-built AI foundation model for aerospace and defense, ZEE.
- Boeing to take stake and become a strategic partner to Archer; establishes ongoing Archer and Boeing collaboration and technology sharing arrangement.
Archerโs Founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein said, โThis is a watershed moment for Archer and the future of physical AI in aerospace and defense. This is the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business.โ
In conjunction with the transaction, Boeing and Archer are entering into a collaboration and technology-sharing arrangement through which Boeing will retain access to the Wisk core autonomous flight technology for its current and next-generation commercial and defense aircraft. The transaction allows Boeing to retain strategic upside through its stake in Archer and simultaneously focus current and future investments into Boeingโs core businesses.
โThis transaction is a win-win for Boeing and Archer,โ said Brian Yutko, Boeing vice president, Commercial Airplanes Product Development. โIt allows Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu to accelerate capability development and time to market while ensuring Boeing capitalizes on its investments in these technologies over the past two decades through continued development in our core businesses. Having worked with the incredible teams in these companies firsthand, itโs clear this transaction will create an industry leader in the advanced aviation market. We look forward to collaborating with Archer to drive continued innovation in aerospace, defense and autonomy.โ
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