Archer acquires three Boeing subsidiaries — Whisk, In Situ, and SkyGrid — in all-stock deal to accelerate eVTOL commercialization

Archer acquires three Boeing subsidiaries in all-stock deal

Archer Aviation is acquiring Whisk, In Situ, and SkyGrid from Boeing in an all-stock transaction, making Boeing a strategic partner and shareholder in the eVTOL company. The deal, announced by Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein alongside Boeing product development lead Brian Yutko, is the first consolidation of this kind in the advanced air mobility sector.

What each subsidiary brings

• Whisk — Boeing's advanced air mobility platform, developing autonomous electric aircraft
• In Situ — Boeing's ISR drone business, notable for being revenue-generating with active cash flow
• SkyGrid — Boeing's air traffic control software for advanced air mobility

The architecture fit is closer than a typical M&A story might suggest. Goldstein says both Archer and Whisk independently converged on the same airframe design: 12 sets of engines, six tilting propellers, six fixed — almost identical configurations arrived at from different angles. Archer focused on commercialization; Whisk pushed on autonomy. Combined, Goldstein argues they can accelerate both the path to market and the advanced capability stack.

“Today we announced a pretty big strategic transaction where Archer will be acquiring three businesses from Boeing. Whisk, which is their advanced air mobility platform, In Situ, which is their ISR drone platform, and SkyGrid, which is their air traffic control product... The deal is actually an all stock transaction, so it makes us partners now... Archer was selected as the exclusive air taxi provider for the LA 2028 games.”

In Situ as the financial bridge

The In Situ piece is the most immediately practical. Goldstein acknowledges that eVTOL startups rarely generate early revenue — he jokes it's a "Silicon Valley show" moment when a startup actually wants cash flow — but In Situ's drone business provides exactly that. The logic is to use smaller ISR drones to generate cash, test new capabilities, and extend runway while Archer continues building toward the larger commercial air taxi market.

LA 2028 as the forcing function

Archer was selected as the exclusive air taxi provider for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which Goldstein frames less as a commercial launch and more as an unslippable deadline for the company, regulators, and infrastructure partners to coordinate around. The goal is aircraft flying visibly at the games to demonstrate safety and build consumer comfort at scale.

Near-term, Archer is participating in the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, an industry initiative stemming from an executive order from President Trump, which allows eVTOL companies to begin flying in major U.S. cities. Goldstein says the program is already underway and ramping through the second half of 2025, with Archer and Whisk both participating.

The all-stock structure aligns both companies on the same outcome — Boeing holds Archer equity and has incentives tied to the collaboration — which is the cleaner read on why Boeing would trade three subsidiaries for stock rather than cash during a period when it is actively streamlining its portfolio.