Archer Aviation purchasing 3 Boeing subsidiaries

Aug. 10 (UPI) — Archer Aviation announced a deal to acquire three subsidiaries of Boeing on Monday in exchange for a stake in the company.

Under the deal, Archer is acquiring Wisk Aero unit, SkyGrid and Insitu, all subsidiaries that are working on the development of autonomous aircraft. In exchange, Boeing will take a 16.5% stake in Archer.

“This is a watershed moment for Archer and the future of physical [artificial intelligence] in aerospace and defense,” Adam Goldstein, founder and chief executive of Archer, said in a statement. “This is the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business.”

Boeing will maintain access to Wisk’s autonomous flight technology for use in its commercial and military aircraft. It is also granted the chance to buy up to $200 million in shares of Archer in the future.

Boeing previously invested in Archer as part of an agreement to end a legal dispute between Archer and Wisk Aero. Wisk Aero alleged that Archer had stolen proprietary information. The amount of the investment by Boeing was not disclosed.

Following Monday’s announcement, shares in Archer increased by 20%.

“This transaction is a win-win for Boeing and Archer,” Brian Yutko, vice president of Boeing and former Wisk chief executive, said in a statement. “Having worked with the incredible teams in these companies firsthand, it’s clear this transaction will create an industry leader in the advanced aviation market.”