Archer buys former rival Wisk Aero
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.
- 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
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Archer Aviation and Wisk Aero are both companies working on electric air taxis, small aircraft that take off and land vertically like a helicopter but run on batteries rather than jet fuel. The two firms were once bitter rivals, with Wisk suing Archer in 2021 over allegations of stolen trade secrets, a dispute the companies settled in 2023. Wisk itself grew out of an earlier startup and later became a fully owned subsidiary of Boeing, the aerospace giant.
Archer, which listed on the stock market in 2021, has been developing its own aircraft, called Midnight, and has also moved into defence work through a partnership with Anduril. The deal now sees Boeing agreeing to sell Wisk, along with two other units it owns, to Archer in return for shares in Archer, rather than cash.
This matters because it brings two former courtroom opponents together under one roof and gives Boeing a significant stake in Archer as the electric air taxi industry, still in its early stages, tries to move from prototypes towards everyday passenger flights.