Archer Aviation to Acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid Units
The deal folds a $200 million-plus defense revenue stream and autonomy software from three Boeing subsidiaries into Archer's air-taxi platform, betting on physical AI as its next growth leg.
Archer Aviation Inc. (ACHR) agreed to acquire Boeing's Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid subsidiaries, a deal expected to close by the end of 2026. The structure of the transaction was not disclosed.
The acquisition brings Archer a defense business generating more than $200 million in annual revenue, along with autonomy and airspace intelligence software developed across the three units. Archer said it plans to combine that software with its own ZEE AI foundation model to build what it described as an end-to-end physical AI platform spanning aerospace and defense.
"This is a watershed moment for Archer and the future of physical AI in aerospace and defense," said Adam Goldstein, Archer's founder and chief executive. "This is the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business".
The deal extends a defense push Archer has been building for more than a year. The company disclosed in August 2025 that it had acquired a patent portfolio and hired employees from Overair and picked up composite-manufacturing assets from Mission Critical Composites, moves it tied at the time to rising Pentagon demand for autonomous systems, including a $13.4 billion fiscal 2026 budget request for autonomous and military programs. The Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid acquisition is a larger step in the same direction, adding an established, revenue-generating defense operation rather than early-stage assets.
The transaction lands amid a run of consolidation among aerospace and autonomy companies chasing defense budgets and multi-domain platforms. Redwire Corporation's $925 million acquisition of Edge Autonomy, structured as $150 million in cash and $775 million in stock, was framed around building a "multi-domain, scaled and profitable" space and defense company, immediately accretive to revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. Ondas Inc. has pursued a similar strategy in smaller increments, acquiring World View and Rotron Aero to knit together stratospheric sensing, tactical autonomy and long-range strike capabilities into what it calls a system-of-systems architecture. Archer's move follows the same logic: pairing an existing commercial platform, in its case electric vertical takeoff aircraft, with acquired defense-grade autonomy software to widen its addressable market.
The deal's close is subject to customary conditions expected to be satisfied by year-end. Archer did not disclose integration synergies or accretion estimates alongside the announcement, though the company pointed to the acquired units' existing profitability as a near-term contributor to its revenue base.