# Archer buys former rival Wisk Aero

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/archer-buys-former-rival-wisk-aero/
- Published: 2026-08-10T15:09:39+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-10T15:16:57+00:00
- Original publisher: TechCrunch
- Original article: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/10/archer-buys-former-rival-wisk-aero/
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- Archer Aviation to acquire former rival Wisk Aero from Boeing
- Boeing gets roughly 16.5% stake in Archer in return
- Deal follows 2021 lawsuit and 2023 settlement between the firms

## Summary

Archer Aviation has agreed to acquire Wisk Aero, along with two other Boeing subsidiaries, three years after settling a bitter trade secrets lawsuit between the two electric aircraft companies. Under the deal, Boeing will sell Wisk, digital airspace management firm SkyGrid and drone maker Insitu to Archer in exchange for newly issued Archer shares, marking a striking reversal from the litigation that once pitted the firms against each other. The acquisition consolidates Archer's position in the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sector by folding in a former rival's autonomous flight technology.

Boeing will receive shares equal to 19.75% of Archer's outstanding stock immediately before closing, leaving it with roughly a 16.5% stake in the combined company. Wisk originated from Kittyhawk, a startup led by Sebastian Thrun and backed by Larry Page, before its Cora air taxi programme was spun off into a Boeing joint venture in 2019 and became a wholly owned Boeing subsidiary by 2023. Archer, which went public in 2021, has since expanded beyond air taxis into defence, raising hundreds of millions of dollars and partnering with Anduril, while also progressing its Midnight aircraft ahead of planned operations later this year.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.