Two rivals in the race to mass-produce an all-electric aircraft said Thursday they have agreed to cooperate and settle a trade-secret lawsuit filed by one rival, Wisk Aero, against the other. , Archer Aviation.
Boeing, which owns Wisk, has invested an undisclosed amount in Archer. Archer said it, in turn, will exclusively use Wisk’s self-flying technology in future aircraft.
Both Wisk and Archer make small aircraft that can fly vertically, like helicopters, but take off like airplanes. Each is designed to carry four passengers over short distances, but Archer’s will initially have a pilot while Wisk works toward autonomous flight.
Boeing said in a statement that its investment in Archer “will support the potential integration of Wisk’s autonomous technology into future Archer aircraft variants, pursuant to Wisk’s exclusive right to be their autonomy provider.”
At the same time, the companies said they would end a bitter legal dispute. In 2021, Wisk sued Archer in federal court, accusing a pair of Archer engineers of stealing proprietary information when they left Wisk. Archer later sued Wisk, accusing him of engaging in a “smear campaign” against Archer.
Wisk was developed as a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, an aviation start-up backed by Google co-founder Larry Page. Kitty Hawk announced plans to close last year, and Boeing announced in May that it had acquired Wisk outright.
Neither company disclosed the size of Boeing’s investment, but Archer said it was part of $215 million it recently raised from Stellantis, the automaker whose brands include Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep and Maserati; United Airlines; and other financial institutions. With that amount, Archer has raised more than $1.1 billion to date.
Archer, one of the leaders in the development of all-electric aircraft, also called air taxis, also said Thursday that it had received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin flight tests of its production aircraft, Midnight, in the coming weeks.
The company plans to begin commercial operations in 2025, pending FAA approval. Last month, Archer announced an agreement to deliver up to six of its aircraft to the Air Force.