Boeing sells Wisk, Insitu, SkyGrid to Archer Aviation for equity stake

Boeing sells Wisk, Insitu, SkyGrid to Archer Aviation for equity stake

Mon, August 10, 2026 at 4:11 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Boeing agreed Monday to sell three subsidiaries — Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu — to Archer Aviation in exchange for a stake in the eVTOL startup, the companies said. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2026, pending antitrust review.

As part of the transaction, Boeing will take a nearly 20% stake in Archer and receive warrants in the company, according to The Wall Street Journal. Boeing can also nominate a director to Archer's board. The plane maker will retain access to Wisk's autonomous flight technology through a separate collaboration and technology-sharing arrangement.

The three units bring different capabilities to Archer. Wisk has designed and flown six generations of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, logging more than 1,700 flight tests over 16 years, the company said. SkyGrid has built an air traffic management platform for automated airspace. Insitu designs and manufactures uncrewed aircraft systems used in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, with its technology deployed by the armed forces of 35 nations. Insitu generates more than $200 million in annual revenue, the company said.

Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein called the deal "the next big step forward in becoming a diversified platform, rapidly growing our revenue base and bringing scale to our business," in a statement.

For Boeing, the sale continues a divestiture strategy under CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took the role in August 2024. Boeing last year sold flight-planning provider Jeppesen and other digital aviation services businesses to private-equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion, according to the Journal. Ortberg has made clear that returning Boeing to health means directing resources toward its commercial aircraft, defense, and space divisions.

Brian Yutko, Boeing vice president of commercial airplanes product development, said the transaction "allows Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu to accelerate capability development and time to market while ensuring Boeing capitalizes on its investments in these technologies over the past two decades through continued development in our core businesses," in a statement.

Archer stock jumped 18% ahead of Monday's open, while Boeing edged down 0.2%.

Archer, which is headquartered in California, was valued at over $4 billion as of Friday's close. Archer has been working on urban air-taxi networks since its founding in 2018. Moelis & Company is serving as financial advisor to Archer, while J.P. Morgan Securities is advising Boeing.