Archer Aviation Inc. surged nearly 30% in premarket trading after receiving a $215 million equity investment from Boeing.
It announced a $215 million equity investment and reached an agreement with Boeing and its Wisk air taxi unit to collaborate and settle litigation.
Archer, which is developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks, said equity investment round involves Stellantis, Boeing, United Airlines, and Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management LLC, increasing total funding so far to more than $1.1 billion.
Archer, which also announced its quarterly results, is working on winning Federal Aviation Administration certification with an aim to beginning commercial operations in 2025.
Wisk - originally a joint venture of Boeing, Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk Corp, now wholly owned by Boeing - sued rival Archer in 2021, accusing it of stealing trade secrets, infringing on its patents. Archer counter-sued Wisk in 2021, and Boeing in 2022.
Under their settlement, Archer says agreed to make Wisk exclusive provider of autonomy technology for future aircraft.