Boeing invests in Archer eVTOL

Aug 12, 2023 - 9:36 am

Archer Aviation has secured a $215m equity investment from industry leaders Boeing, Stellantis and United Airlines, as well as other financial institutions, increasing the company’s total funding to over $1.1bn to date.

The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer has also received FAA approval to begin flying its Midnight eVTOL aircraft.

Archer also announced it had reached an agreement with Boeing and Wisk to enter into an autonomous flight collaboration and settle litigation between the companies.

And Archer confirmed that it is on track to complete what it believes will be the first ever eVTOL aircraft delivery to a customer as part of its recently announced contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD).

Stellantis, United Airlines and Boeing come together to invest in Archer

These announcements come on the heels of the FAA Administrator leaving to join Archer and the DoD awarding Archer the largest total contract value of any eVTOL company.

“Over the last quarter, we’ve seen the US government make an unwavering commitment that America will lead the way in commercialising eVTOL aircraft, the FAA validated the timeline for eVTOL aircraft to begin operations in the US in 2025, and leaders in the mobility industry, Stellantis, United Airlines and Boeing, have come together to invest in Archer’s future,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO.

“The pace at which our industry is advancing is unprecedented. Our team’s hard work and dedication have brought us to this exciting moment, and we can’t wait to see Midnight soar.”

The Boeing collaboration allows Archer to source autonomy technology from a leader in the industry. Over the long term, autonomy is seen as one of the keys to achieving scale across all AAM applications, from passenger to cargo and beyond.

This relationship will leverage each company’s respective strengths and competencies with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of autonomous flight. This approach is a natural extension of Archer’s overall strategy of focusing its in-house research and development on the key enabling technologies that cannot be sourced from the existing aerospace supply base, thereby helping Archer potentially avoid hundreds of millions of dollars of spending.
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