Archer Aviation now owns its former rival Wisk Aero after Boeing agreed to sell Wisk, along with SkyGrid and drone maker Insitu, to Archer in exchange for a roughly 16.5% stake in the company. The deal follows the settlement of a trade-secret lawsuit three years ago.
π The Backstory
Wisk sued Archer in April 2021 for alleged theft of confidential information, and a two-year legal battle ended in a settlement that made Wisk Archer's exclusive autonomous-technologies provider. Wisk started as Kittyhawk, an electric-aviation startup co-founded by Sebastian Thrun and backed by Google co-founder Larry Page.
π― Why It Matters
The acquisition consolidates the electric air-taxi sector, giving Archer Boeing-backed autonomous flight technology and drone capabilities, and signals consolidation as eVTOL companies scale toward commercial operations.
Archer Aviation now owns its former rival Wisk Aero after Boeing agreed to sell Wisk, along with SkyGrid and drone maker Insitu, to Archer in exchange for a roughly 16.5% stake in the company. The deal follows the settlement of a trade-secret lawsuit three years ago.
Wisk sued Archer in April 2021 for alleged theft of confidential information, and a two-year legal battle ended in a settlement that made Wisk Archer's exclusive autonomous-technologies provider. Wisk started as Kittyhawk, an electric-aviation startup co-founded by Sebastian Thrun and backed by Google co-founder Larry Page.
The acquisition consolidates the electric air-taxi sector, giving Archer Boeing-backed autonomous flight technology and drone capabilities, and signals consolidation as eVTOL companies scale toward commercial operations.