Archer gains a lot from settling with Wisk and Boeing

Archer Aviation and Wisk Aero have settled their federal and state court litigation, which was pending a jury trial. Instead of continuing their legal battle, Archer and Boeing-owned Wisk have announced a partnership that allows Archer to source autonomy technology from Wisk. That opens up new pathways for the future growth of Archer. Archer gains a lot from settling with Wisk and Boeing.

Archer announced the settlement on August 10 in its Q2 shareholder letter and was confirmed by Wisk in a press statement. The legal conflict reached its height in May at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Wisk filed a lawsuit against Archer in 2021, accusing a number of former employees of having stolen intellectual property when they moved to Archer in late 2019-early 2020. Wisk alleged that the eVTOL design revealed by Archer in 2020 was remarkably similar to its own design, notably the patented configuration of the twelve tilt motors, V-shaped tail, and battery technology. It sought $1.0 billion in compensation from Archer.

In various summary judgments, the Court rejected numerous accusations, including Wisk’s claim that the design of the aircraft was unique to Wisk. The judge also noted that Wisk failed to offer circumstantial evidence that former Wisk employees had taken know-how with them to Archer. If this was an indication of Wisk’s case becoming not so convincing and might even risk losing it isn’t known. Nor is it who was the first to suggest a settlement.