Archer agrees to acquire Wisk Aero as Boeing takes an ownership stake
Archer Aviation has agreed to acquire former rival Wisk Aero from Boeing in a transaction that will give Boeing an approximately 16.5% stake in Archer after closing. The deal also transfers two other Boeing subsidiaries to Archer: SkyGrid, a digital airspace and air traffic management software company, and drone manufacturer Insitu.
Boeing will receive newly issued Archer shares equal to 19.75% of Archer’s outstanding shares immediately before the transaction closes. A regulatory filing and a person familiar with the matter indicate that this will translate into about a 16.5% holding once the deal is completed.
From litigation to ownership
The acquisition marks a striking change in the relationship between two developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. In April 2021, Wisk sued Archer, alleging the theft of confidential information and intellectual property. The dispute ran for two years before a settlement ended both Wisk’s lawsuit and Archer’s countersuit seeking $1 billion in damages.
That settlement also established a commercial relationship. Archer agreed to use Wisk as its exclusive provider of autonomous technology, and Wisk received an option to buy up to 13,176,636 Archer common shares for $0.01 each. The transaction now brings those companies under a single corporate structure, a development that changes the context for Wisk Aero autonomy risk assessment as autonomous air-taxi programmes move from competitive claims toward integration.
Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu join Archer
Wisk originated in Kittyhawk, the electric aviation startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page and led by Sebastian Thrun. After Kittyhawk closed in September 2022, its Cora programme continued through a joint venture with Boeing that began in late 2019. Renamed Wisk, the venture focused on developing and commercialising autonomous electric air taxis.
Boeing invested millions in the effort, including a further $450 million in early 2022, and Wisk became a wholly owned Boeing subsidiary by 2023. Cora was designed as a two-person autonomous flying taxi. Its addition gives Archer access to a programme with a distinct focus on self-flying aircraft, alongside Archer’s existing eVTOL work.
The scope of the acquisition extends beyond aircraft development. SkyGrid contributes digital airspace and air traffic management software, while Insitu adds drone-making capabilities. Archer is also progressing with its all-electric Midnight aircraft; earlier this month it completed a piloted round-trip flight between Salinas Municipal Airport and Monterey Regional Airport as it prepares for operations later this year under the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.
Broader strategy
Founded in California in 2018 and public since its 2021 merger with a blank-check company, Archer has broadened beyond its original air-taxi-network plan. It raised $430 million in December 2024 for Archer Defense and raised a further $300 million in 2025 from institutional investors including BlackRock and Wellington.
Archer has also signed an exclusive agreement with Anduril to jointly develop a hybrid gas-and-electric VTOL aircraft for critical defense applications. For businesses evaluating advanced aviation partners, the transaction concentrates aircraft, autonomous-flight, airspace-management and drone capabilities at Archer, making ownership structure and technology dependencies central factors in future planning.