The Boeing divestment will give Archer access to proprietary autonomous flight, electric drivetrain and uncrewed aerial systems technologies.
Advanced air mobility start-up Archer Aviation has reached a deal to acquire several emerging aerospace technology companies owned by Boeing.
The agreement covers electric aircraft developer Wisk, uncrewed aerial systems manufacturer Insitu and air traffic management solutions provider SkyGrid. Although the specific terms have not been disclosed, Archer says it has “signed definitive agreements” with Boeing covering the acquisitions.
An 8-K filing with US securities regulators on 9 August reveals that Boeing will take a nearly 20% ownership stake in Archer via stock transfer in exchange for the three companies. Additionally, Boeing will be granted warrants allowing it to purchase $200 million in Archer stock over the next several years at a fixed price.
As a result of the deal, San Jose-based Archer will gain access to a number of technologies relevant to its own portfolio, which is centred on the Midnight electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) passenger rotorcraft, a newly revealed hybrid-electric dual-use tiltrotor called Halo and the artificial intelligence-powered air traffic control solution Zee.
Archer describes the suite of technologies controlled by Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid as “complementary” to its own product line, with the end goal being a “groundbreaking end-to-end physical AI platform for aerospace and defence”.
“This is the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business,” says Archer chief executive Adam Goldstein.
Insitu alone provides the as-yet unprofitable start-up Archer with a money-making defence business that generates $200 million in annual revenue. The company produces the Integrator and ScanEagle UAS.
Boeing does not report Insitu’s financials as a standalone unit as part of its normal earnings disclosures, so the company’s exact profit and loss figures are not known.
Although Boeing is divesting the three subsidiaries, it will not lose access to all of their technology.
A collaboration and technology-sharing provision of the sale arrangement allows Boeing to retain access to Wisk’s autonomous flight technology for use in Boeing’s “current and next-generation commercial and defence” products, Archer says.
That is potentially significant for the vertical lift unit of Boeing’s defence business, which produces the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift tandem rotorcraft. Boeing’s competitors in the military rotary-wing space, in particular Sikorsky, are making significant progress in developing fully autonomous aircraft.
Boeing began flight testing with an autonomy-enabled CH-47F earlier this year.
The airframer says divesting its emerging technology subsidiaries, while gaining a major stake in Archer, will allow it to “retain strategic upside” while focusing its own internal investment into the company’s primary manufacturing business.
“It allows Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu to accelerate capability development and time to market while ensuring Boeing capitalises on its investments in these technologies over the past two decades through continued development in our core businesses,” says Brian Yutko, Boeing’s vice-president of commercial airplanes product development.
Senior Boeing executives, including chief executive Kelly Ortberg and the chief executive for defence Steve Parker, have repeatedly emphasised discipline and a more cautious business strategy as they seek to return the aerospace giant to profitability after years of losses driven by industrial problems and a financially aggressive approach to defence contracts.
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