Air Taxi Company Raises Another $430M, Launches Defense Program

Archer Aviation has raised $430M in additional equity capital, bringing the total raised to nearly $2 billion. The company also agreed to develop a hybrid VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle for the military.

The funding came from long-term backers Stellantis and United Airlines along with institutional investors Wellington Management and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero.

Archer and defense technology company Anduril Industries plan to jointly develop a next generation flying vehicle for the Department of Defense.

“The Archer team has deep expertise in the rapid design, engineering and production of next-generation vertical-lift aircraft,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer. “With Anduril by our side, and this new influx of capital, we will accelerate the development and deployment of advanced aerospace technologies at scale.”

The new Archer Defense is being led by Archer head of advanced projects Joseph Pantalone, who recently joined Archer after years working at  Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky. 

For more flying vehicle and other emerging tech news subscribe to our free newsletter!

Archer recently signed an agreement to establish eVTOL operations in Abu Dhabi, with a multi-party agreement with key United Arab Emirates organizations.

This could make Archer the first electric aerial vehicle (EAV) to manufacture and operate in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the first to launch commercial flying taxi operations in the Emirate. 

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office plans to coordinate the Abu Dhabi entities to prepare for commercial operations.  

The UAE is a cornerstone of Archer’s future, and these partnerships are key to making that future a reality,” said Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer of Archer Aviation

Archer recently signed a deal for Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation to purchase 100 eVTOL vehicles to launch an advanced air mobility (AAM) service in Japan.

The Soracle Corporation obtained the right to order 100 Midnight flying vehicles in a deal valued at $500 million.

The goal is to provide electric air taxi flights in cities where ground transportation is constrained by traffic or geographic barriers, according to the company.

The air taxis could serve Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hokkaido, Setouchi and Okinawa.

Archer and Soracle said they plan to work with the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to gain the needed certifications. Archer already intended to apply for type certificate from JCAB.

Public flight demonstrations are planned for the World Expo in 2025 to build public support for the air taxi service.

Joby Aviation, the other major air taxi service, is also looking at Japan, having recently conducted exhibition flights with Toyota in Japan, that company’s first flights outside the U.S.

Toyota has been investing in Joby since 2019 and sharing knowledge of the Toyota systems for planning, manufacturing methods and tooling design.

Meanwhile, Archer already has completed 400 test flights, which produced data to evaluate and refine flying vehicle loads, vibrations, performance and handling.

The flights included longer distance flights to gather data, increased daily operations to simulate busy flight days, landings in various wind conditions and hovering to collect data on noise.

The Archer Midnight can carry four passengers, a pilot and carry-on luggage and is aimed at trips of 20 to 50 miles, with 10 minutes of battery charging between flights.

It can travel up to 150 mph and is designed for back-to-back flights. As with other EAVs, the Archer Midnight is a low altitude flying vehicle.

United Airlines made a pre-delivery payment for 100 Archer EAVs in 2022.

Archer also is selling 116 of its Midnight flying vehicles to Future Flight Global (FFG) in a deal valued at up to $580 million, bringing the total estimated future sales of Archer EAVs to more than $6 billion, according to the company.

Archer and FFG plan to launch air taxi services in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Archer is planning a Los Angeles air taxi network with takeoff and landing facilities at Los Angeles International Airport, USC, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach and Van Nuys, scheduled to start in 2026.

Archer also has a deal with Southwest Airlines to create an electric air taxi network in California using Archer’s eVTOL vehicle.

The air taxis would fly in California, where Southwest operates from 14 airports across the state.

This deal includes partnering with Southwest employees and unions for operations to provide travelers with a door-to-door journey with the EAV involved in the first and last miles of a trip.

Archer has been tapping into the supply chain and manufacturing assets of Stellantis to help in the development of its eVTOLs and the new investment furthers that relationship. This was before the recent change in leadership at Stellantis, so the future of that situation is not yet clear.

Archer had already announced it was planning an air mobility network connecting five locations across the San Francisco Bay area with takeoff and landing facilities in San Francisco, Napa, San Jose, Oakland and Livermore.

Archer also has partnered with Signature Aviation to provide the eVTOL maker access to key United Airlines hubs at airports including Newark International and Chicago O’Hare.

Signature is the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals and would provide Archer with access to takeoff and landing sites in major metropolitan areas across the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Texas.

The companies plan to leverage their partnerships with Beta Technologies from Burlington, Vermont, to install the Beta rapid recharging systems at the Signature terminals

Archer recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin operating EAVs commercially.

That was the second air taxi maker to be certified by the FAA, following Joby, which received its FAA certificate in 2022.

Archer has been expanding globally, including a deal with Kakao Mobility in Korea for the purchase of up to 50 of the Archer Midnight at a value of $250 million.

Archer featured Midnight for the first time in Saudi Arabia, following a showcasing of the EAV at the DriftX mobility expo in Abu Dhabi.