Archer Aviation is set to acquire Boeing subsidiaries Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu to form a physical AI platform for the aerospace and defence sectors. The deal combines autonomy, eVTOL, and unmanned systems expertise. Boeing will become a strategic investor in Archer while retaining access to core autonomous flight technologies for its own commercial and military aircraft.
Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu have pioneered and incubated core autonomous flight technologies for the future that, in combination with Archer’s 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 Archer’s 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.
Archer’s Founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein said, “This 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.”
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 Boeing’s core businesses.
“This transaction is a win-win for Boeing and Archer,” said Brian Yutko, Boeing vice president, Commercial Airplanes Product Development. “It 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, it’s 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.”
