Archer buys Boeing's Insitu, Wisk, SkyGrid
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- Archer Aviation is acquiring three Boeing subsidiaries — Wisk Aero (autonomous eVTOL developer), Insitu (military drone maker), and SkyGrid (airspace-software firm) — while Boeing takes a stake in Archer and enters a technology-sharing collaboration.
- Insitu is the prize of the deal: a profitable defense drone maker generating over $200 million in annual revenue, with more than 3,500 uncrewed aircraft systems fielded by the armed forces of 35 nations.
- Archer (ACHR) stock jumped more than 20% on Monday as the acquisition turns a pre-revenue eVTOL startup into a company with a profitable defense business behind it.
- Wisk and Archer settled a bitter 2021 trade-secrets lawsuit on August 10, 2023 — exactly three years before this deal — with Boeing investing in Archer's funding round at the time; Archer now owns Wisk outright.
- The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, pending antitrust review; no purchase price, investment amount, or Boeing's equity percentage was disclosed.
- Archer is framing the combined assets as an "end-to-end physical AI platform for aerospace and defense," with all assets feeding into its AI foundation model, ZEE.
- Archer's defense pivot began in late 2024 with its Anduril partnership and $430 million raise; last month the two unveiled "Thunder," an autonomous VTOL aircraft for defense and commercial missions.
Why it matters: Insitu's $200M+ in profitable annual revenue instantly converts Archer from a cash-burning eVTOL bet into a defense-aerospace platform with real manufacturing and contracts across 35 nations. Investors validated the pivot with a 20%+ stock surge, but with no disclosed equity percentage or purchase price and antitrust review still pending, Boeing's exact position and the deal's final structure remain unclear until the expected end-2026 close.
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