Archer Acquires Boeing's Wisk, Insitu, and SkyGrid Subsidiaries
Archer Aviation has reached an agreement to acquire three subsidiaries of Boeing: Wisk Aero, Insitu, and SkyGrid. This deal marks a significant milestone for Archer as it gains access to profitable defense assets and establishes its first profitable defense business. The acquisition is part of Boeing's ongoing effort to shed non-core assets under CEO Kelly Ortberg.
Insitu, the most immediately material asset, generates over $200 million in annual revenue and has fielded more than 3,500 uncrewed aircraft systems for the armed forces of 35 nations. Archer views this acquisition as a crucial step towards establishing its presence in the defense market, which is currently served by its Thunder and Halo products.
The acquisition also brings Wisk's six generations of eVTOL design experience and over 1,700 flight tests to Archer, along with SkyGrid's aircraft-agnostic ground-based air traffic management software. This technology will feed into Archer's 'physical AI' platform, which combines data from nearly two million combined flight hours.
Under the terms of the deal, Boeing retains access to Wisk's core autonomous flight technology and maintains an equity stake in Archer through its ownership of the company.