Boeing and Archer Aviation announced August 10 that they have signed definitive agreements for Archer to acquire three Boeing subsidiaries: Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu. In exchange, Boeing will take an equity stake in Archer and the two companies will enter a technology-sharing arrangement.
The deal combines Archer’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi business with autonomy, air traffic management and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) capabilities built up inside Boeing over the past two decades. Archer describes the result as an end-to-end “physical AI” platform spanning commercial aerospace, defense and air traffic management, built around the company’s ZEE AI foundation model.
“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”, said Adam Goldstein, Founder and CEO of Archer.
What Archer is acquiring
Wisk Aero has designed, built and flown six generations of autonomous eVTOL aircraft and has logged more than 1,700 flight tests. Boeing took full ownership of Wisk in 2023.
SkyGrid provides ground-based, aircraft-agnostic air traffic management software intended to support automated and coordinated airspace operations as uncrewed and autonomous aircraft scale up.
Insitu, which Boeing acquired in 2008, designs, builds and operates UAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The company has manufactured and fielded more than 3,500 UAS and supports operations for the armed forces of 35 countries. Archer said Insitu is generating more than $200 million in annual revenue, based on Insitu’s current financials and estimates, making it the most immediately material asset in the deal. Combined, the three businesses have logged nearly two million flight hours.
“This transaction is a win-win for Boeing and Archer. 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”, said Brian Yutko, Vice President, Commercial Airplanes Product Development at Boeing.
Deal terms
Boeing will receive newly issued Archer Class A shares and warrants, bringing its stake to nearly 20 percent of Archer’s Class A shares, along with the right to nominate a director to Archer’s board. Boeing has also agreed to invest up to $55 million in an upcoming Archer funding round.
As part of the arrangement, Boeing and Archer will establish an ongoing collaboration and technology-sharing agreement under which Boeing retains cross-licensed access to Wisk’s core autonomous flight technology for use in its own current and next-generation commercial and defense aircraft.
Additional deal terms are detailed in Archer’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the same day. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
Context
The announcement comes three years to the day after Wisk and Archer settled a 2021 trade secrets lawsuit, in which Wisk had alleged Archer used confidential information in developing its aircraft; Archer denied the allegations and said it had developed its technology independently.
The sale also fits a broader restructuring at Boeing under CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over in August 2024 and has repeatedly said the company needs to concentrate investment on its core commercial airplane, defense and space businesses rather than earlier-stage ventures like Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu.
