LinkedIn: Wisk CEO Sebastian Vigneron announces deal
Archer Aviation: Press release
LinkedIn: Thomas Wagenberg comments, noting this was a “no-cash” deal
LinkedIn: Ken Morris sees this consolidation as strengthening the urban air mobility sector
CNBC: Boeing sells eVTOL subsidiaries, takes stake in Archer
CNBC: Archer Aviation shares jump 10% on news of Boeing deal
The Air Current: Interview with Boeing/Brian Yutko and Archer/Adam Goldstein
An interesting note from the press release and other coverage used the term “AI”, but this stands for “aircraft intelligence”, not “artificial intelligence” (see press release).
My take: Wisk was still years away from certification and entry into service, Boeing chose this path to keep their hand in the air taxi market, but divested itself of the cost of running Wisk and Skygrid. This is a “good business deal” for Boeing and Archer, but will probably result in job losses at Wisk and Skygrid in areas of duplication.