Archer, Wisk swap legal war for air taxi automated flight tech partnership

Air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation has announced a trio of developments that, even taken individually, represent huge news for the company – the biggest among them being the abrupt transformation of its bitter legal battle with sector rival Wisk into an autonomous flight tech sharing partnership.

In a single, understandably long communiqué Archer issued late Thursday, the company said it had agreed with advanced air mobility (AAM) competitor Wisk to forego what was expected to be an ugly courtroom showdown in their dispute. Instead, the pair will work together on their otherwise competing bids to launch air taxi services within the next couple of years.

Read: Air taxi maker Archer signs $142M eVTOL deal with US Air Force

That accord calls for Archer to become a client, integrating Wisk’s self-flight tech into its Midnight aircraft – an agreement it says makes it “able to source autonomy technology from a leader in the industry.”

Such flattering superlatives are a far cry from the hostile language both air taxi companies reserved for one another during the years of legal warring since Wisk sued Archer on allegations of intellectual property theft. The case was founded on claims Archer had poached an employee who’d exfiltrated Wisk tech secrets that were used to produce what became Midnight.

Read: Misappropriation lawsuit between eVTOL rivals signals nearing of lucrative business activity

Though Wisk had encountered several setbacks in its drive to take its San Francisco Bay Area rival out with the accusations, just last month a judge ordered the case be heard by a jury. That looming trial risked leaving both firms – and by association the wider AAM sector – bruised, bloodied, and resembling a drunken trailer trash family Christmas dinner brawl at the very dawn of an otherwise shimmering air taxi era. 

Instead, Archer has settled the persistent and potentially marring distraction into oblivion, and will adopt Wisk autonomous flight components that should, moreover, help it close its development gap with leading air taxi competitor Joby.

Read: Air taxi maker Joby gets FAA authorization to test its first production line AAM aircraft

Just as incredible, the agreement to end litigation also ushers Wisk owner Boeing in as a major Archer shareholder, thereby giving the US aviation giant equity stakes in two of the top three air taxi developers on the planet. 

“As part of the parties’ collaboration, Boeing is making an investment in Archer that will support the integration of Wisk’s autonomous technology in future variants of Archer’s aircraft,” said Wisk in an announcement on the shelving of “the federal and state court litigation between the parties on undisclosed terms.”

“Simultaneously, the parties have entered into a collaboration that looks forward to the growth and development of the AAM industry,” it added.

Read: Boeing assumes full ownership of eVTOL air taxi developer Wisk

Boeing’s entry as a partial owner comes, meanwhile, as part of a $215 million capital infusion also being underwritten by longtime Archer shareholder and industrial partner United Airlines – something of a sector polygamist itself in also having stakes in Embraer’s AAM startup, Eve.

Also participating is existing investor Stellantis, the European automotive giant that will organize and orchestrate Archer’s Midnight production operation.

If all that weren’t sufficiently eventful, Archer rounded out the announcement with news it had received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin test flying its production Midnight air taxi immediately, and virtually at will. 

While that authorization gives Archer the freedom to accelerate its push for certification and introduction of air taxi operations in 2025, the capital infusion – and the economies realized in avoiding continued, costly legal warring with Wisk – will go far to finance the work needed to launch Midnight into operation.

“Leaders in the mobility industry, Stellantis, United Airlines and Boeing, have come together to invest in Archer’s future,” said Archer CEO Adam Goldstein. “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.”