Boeing and Archer Aviation have signed definitive agreements under which Archer will acquire Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu (businesses with nearly two million combined flight hours) while Boeing takes a strategic stake in Archer and retains access to Wisk’s core autonomous flight technology through a technology-sharing arrangement. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026.
A TRANSACTION THAT RESTRUCTURES BOTH SIDES
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR) have announced definitive agreements under which Archer will acquire Boeing’s Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu subsidiaries. The transaction combines capabilities developed over decades in autonomy, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft and uncrewed aircraft systems. In conjunction with the sale, Boeing will take a stake in Archer and become a strategic partner, entering a collaboration and technology-sharing arrangement through which it retains access to Wisk’s core autonomous flight technology for its current and next-generation commercial and defence aircraft.
The structure is the notable feature. Boeing is not exiting the technology; it is exiting the ownership and the associated development expenditure while retaining access to the output and an equity interest in the vehicle that will now fund it. Brian Yutko, Boeing Vice President for Commercial Airplanes Product Development, said the transaction was a win-win, allowing 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 its core businesses. Archer’s Founder and Chief Executive Adam Goldstein described it as a watershed moment for Archer and the future of physical AI in aerospace and defence, and the next big step in becoming a diversified platform.
WHAT ARCHER IS BUYING
The three businesses are substantially different in character. Wisk is described as the only company to have designed, built and flown six generations of eVTOL aircraft, amassing more than 1,700 flight tests over 16 years and developing autonomy capabilities powered by a next-generation flight control computer, sensor suite and radar system designed for certification in both civil and potential defence markets. SkyGrid has built a ground-based, aircraft-agnostic air traffic management solution intended as the digital foundation for automated airspace, enabling safe integration, scalable automation and coordinated traffic management.
Insitu is the commercial substance of the transaction. A pioneer in designing, developing and manufacturing uncrewed aircraft systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, its portfolio spans VTOL-capable UAS and AI-enabled software. Its technologies have supported the armed forces of 35 nations, and it has manufactured and fielded more than 3,500 uncrewed aircraft systems with operations and support networks in every hemisphere and offices in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and the UAE. Archer states Insitu alone will add over US$200 million in annual revenue and describes it as a profitable defence business — against Archer’s own second quarter revenue of US$5.0 million.
Collectively the three companies bring nearly two million combined flight hours, which Archer expects to provide a deep autonomy foundation for ZEE, its aviation AI foundation model. The stated objective is an end-to-end physical AI platform spanning commercial aerospace, defence and air traffic management.
THE SECOND BOEING DIVESTMENT IN THREE WEEKS
The transaction is the second disposal of a long-held technology asset Boeing has announced in under a month. On 23 July, Boeing and General Motors announced a definitive agreement to sell HRL Laboratories — the Malibu research institution founded in 1948 and jointly owned by the two companies — to IBM, with both sellers retaining partnership arrangements on quantum applications. In that announcement Boeing and GM stated they would focus their resources on their respective core businesses. The Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid sale carries the same rationale and the same structure: divest the ownership, retain the access, redirect the capital.
The context is Boeing’s own financial position. In its second quarter results published on 28 July, the company reported GAAP earnings from operations of US$156 million on revenue of US$24.6 billion, core operating earnings of US$1 million, and a net loss of US$428 million, with first-half free cash flow of negative US$823 million against a maintained full-year free cash flow guidance of US$1 billion to US$3 billion. Three aircraft programmes — the 737-7, 737-10 and 777X — are scheduled to begin delivering in 2027. Against those commitments, disposing of assets that consume development funding while preserving technology access is a coherent allocation of capital.
CONDITIONS AND ADVISERS
Additional detail is set out in Archer’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The transaction remains subject to agreed closing conditions including expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and is expected to close by the end of 2026. Moelis & Company LLC is acting as financial adviser to Archer with Fenwick & West LLP as outside counsel; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is advising Boeing with Mayer Brown LLP as outside counsel.
Note: The expected timing, benefits and financial contribution of the transaction are the companies’ own stated expectations, subject to the forward-looking statements and risk factors set out in their respective announcements and SEC filings. Archer’s second quarter financial results are covered in the accompanying article.
Source: The Boeing Company / Archer Aviation Inc., Images: Pexels – Tara Winstead
