Archer Aviation Scores $215 Million in New Funding, Midnight Gets Special Airworthiness Certificate

Archer Aviation Raises $215 Million, Midnight eVTOL Gets FAA Certificate

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb

Archer Aviation, an advanced air mobility company based out of Santa Clara, California, recently announced $215 million in new funding from Stellantis, Boeing, United Airlines, and ARK Investment Management, accelerating their path to market. At the same time, they announced that their Midnight eVTOL received its Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA, allowing for test flights to begin. This important step followed the December reveal of airworthiness criteria from the FAA and after a July visit from the Federal Advanced Air Mobility interagency working group, and should shore up investor confidence that their aggressive release timeline (Archer has announced they seek to have a product on the market as soon as 2025) can be achieved.

Archer Aviation has been among the class leaders in the American eVTOL market, recently receiving a record eVTOL contract worth up to $142 million with the Department of Defense to acquire its Midnight units for the U.S. Air Force, the first of which will be delivered as soon as later this year or early next year. They believe that this will be the first eVTOL ever delivered to a customer, a monumental achievement for the quickly expanding AAM space. At the same time, they announced that an ongoing legal dispute between themselves, Wisk, another advanced air mobility company, and Boeing had been settled, giving Archer access to Wisk’s advanced autonomous capabilities for its own units.

“Over the last quarter, we’ve seen the U.S. government make an unwavering commitment that America will lead the way in commercializing eVTOL aircraft, the FAA validated the timeline for eVTOL aircraft to begin operations in the U.S. in 2025, and leaders in the mobility industry, Stellantis, United Airlines and Boeing, have come together to invest in Archer’s future,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO, in a statement. “The pace at which our industry is advancing is unprecedented. Our team’s hard work and dedication have brought us to this exciting moment, and we can’t wait to see Midnight soar,”.

Large-scale production of the new units will begin in Covington, GA, in mid-2024, in collaboration with Stellantis.

Read more:

• Archer First Response Systems, Drone Rescue Systems Complete Latest ASTM Standards for Drone Parachute Recovery Systems
• Archer Aviation Stock Moves after Showcasing eVTOL Tech, Federal Support
• FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen to Join eVTOL Aircraft Manufacturer Archer Aviation
• Archer Aviation and United Airways Establish Air Taxi Route in Chicago [VIDEO]

Ian McNabb is a staff writer based in Boston, MA. His interests include geopolitics, emerging technologies, environmental sustainability, and Boston College sports.