WASHINGTON — Boeing is selling off three subsidiaries to Archer Aviation in an all-stock deal and will become a “strategic partner” in the electric aircraft startup, the companies announced today.
Under agreements inked by the two firms, a joint press release says Boeing will transfer ownership of its drone subsidiary Insitu, air traffic management company SkyGrid and electric aircraft maker Wisk Aero, which was once a fierce rival of Archer. In exchange, Boeing will take a nearly 16.5 percent stake in Archer, according to the New York Times.
Brian Yutko, Boeing’s vice president for commercial airplanes product development, called the deal a “win-win” for both firms.
The deal “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,” Yutko said in the release.
Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO, called the deal a “watershed moment” for the company and “the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform,” the release says.
The deal, which the release says is expected to close by the end of this year if regulators permit, shakes up the autonomous eVTOL market and would appear to deepen Archer’s defense business. The combined prowess of the three subsidiaries will further be used to strengthen Archer’s artificial intelligence platform called ZEE.
Insitu makes small drones like the Scan Eagle for military users and has sold its tech to the armed forces of 35 countries, according to the release. The move also comes after Archer announced a partnership with defense tech startup Anduril to build a loyal wingman drone for helicopters.
Europe’s military advantage depends on sovereign command of the ground truth
As NATO and European governments accelerate investment in space-based intelligence, decision advantage will depend on how quickly sovereign and commercial capabilities can be fused into a trusted operational picture.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has prioritized divesting non-core company assets in a bid to rebalance the beleaguered aerospace giant and raise cash. In addition to taking Archer stock, the deal says Boeing has agreed to invest up to $55 million in Archer during an upcoming funding round and will be able to buy up to $200 million worth of additional stock sold at a fixed price, according to the Air Current.
The release says the deal also consists of a “technology sharing arrangement,” where “Boeing will retain access to the Wisk core autonomous flight technology for its current and next-generation commercial and defense aircraft.” (Archer previously committed to using Wisk as its “exclusive provider of autonomy technology for future variants of Archer’s aircraft” as part of a settlement with Boeing in 2023.)
In addition to the hybrid-electric Thunder aircraft being developed with Anduril, Archer is working on its all-electric aircraft called Midnight for civil applications. Despite a booming start, the eVTOL industry has struggled to bring an aircraft to market amid regulatory hurdles and developmental challenges. Many eVTOL companies have since pivoted to defense with the incorporation of hybrid-electric powertrains to deliver better performance.