Archer Aviation
Public eVTOL/advanced air mobility company developing the Midnight aircraft for commercial air taxi use and, via its Archer Defense program, hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft for the U.S. military.
Archer Aviation was founded in 2018 by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein, going public via SPAC merger with Atlas Crest Investment Corp in September 2021 (NYSE: ACHR). Its commercial product is Midnight, a piloted eVTOL air taxi; United Airlines holds a conditional purchase agreement worth up to $1.5B, and Stellantis is a manufacturing partner and major shareholder building a production facility in Georgia. Archer's DoD relationship began in 2021 via the Air Force's AFWERX Agility Prime program, expanding in 2023 into a $142M Air Force contract for up to six Midnight aircraft and a $110M USSOCOM SBIR Phase III sole-source IDIQ (Midnight Based Advanced Vertical Lift). In December 2024 Archer announced an exclusive partnership with Anduril Industries — branded Archer Defense — to jointly develop hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft targeting a DoD program of record, raising $430M from Stellantis, United Airlines, Wellington Management, and 2PointZero alongside the announcement. In August 2025 Archer acquired a tiltrotor patent portfolio and engineering talent from Overair, plus composite-manufacturing assets and a ~60,000 sq ft facility from Mission Critical Composites, to build defense-aircraft fabrication in-house. It has also partnered with Anduril, Skyports, and AtkinsRéalis in the UK to test cargo/dual-use Midnight variants. In July 2026 the Archer Defense partnership's first product, Thunder, was unveiled at Farnborough as a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft.
Overview
- Headquarters
- San Jose, CA
- Founded
- 2018
- Employees
- Undisclosed
- Total funding
- $1.1B (2021 SPAC) + $1.58B in post-IPO raises (2024-2025)
- Stage
- Public (NYSE: ACHR)
- Status
- public
- Domains
- Advanced air mobility, eVTOL, Defense aviation
- Website
- archer.com
Founders2
Investors0
No linked records yet.
Cap table0
Approximate ownership by holder. Indexed holders link to their records.
| Holder | Instrument | Ownership |
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Contracts0
No linked records yet.
Programs0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What does Archer Aviation do?
- Archer Aviation was founded in 2018 by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein, going public via SPAC merger with Atlas Crest Investment Corp in September 2021 (NYSE: ACHR). Its commercial product is Midnight, a piloted eVTOL air taxi; United Airlines holds a conditional purchase agreement worth up to $1.5B, and Stellantis is a manufacturing partner and major shareholder building a production facility in Georgia. Archer's DoD relationship began in 2021 via the Air Force's AFWERX Agility Prime program, expanding in 2023 into a $142M Air Force contract for up to six Midnight aircraft and a $110M USSOCOM SBIR Phase III sole-source IDIQ (Midnight Based Advanced Vertical Lift). In December 2024 Archer announced an exclusive partnership with Anduril Industries — branded Archer Defense — to jointly develop hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft targeting a DoD program of record, raising $430M from Stellantis, United Airlines, Wellington Management, and 2PointZero alongside the announcement. In August 2025 Archer acquired a tiltrotor patent portfolio and engineering talent from Overair, plus composite-manufacturing assets and a ~60,000 sq ft facility from Mission Critical Composites, to build defense-aircraft fabrication in-house. It has also partnered with Anduril, Skyports, and AtkinsRéalis in the UK to test cargo/dual-use Midnight variants. In July 2026 the Archer Defense partnership's first product, Thunder, was unveiled at Farnborough as a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft.
- Where is Archer Aviation headquartered?
- Archer Aviation is headquartered in San Jose, CA and was founded in 2018.
- How much funding has Archer Aviation raised?
- Archer Aviation has raised $1.1B (2021 SPAC) + $1.58B in post-IPO raises (2024-2025) in disclosed funding.
- What does Archer Aviation specialize in?
- Archer Aviation works across Advanced air mobility, eVTOL, Defense aviation.
Sources & citations7
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Archer Aviation founded 2018 by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein; went public via SPAC merger with Atlas Crest Investment Corp in September 2021 (NYSE: ACHR), ~$1.1B gross proceeds
TechCrunch: Archer lands .1B order from United Airlines and a SPAC dealVerified2021-02-10 - 2
U.S. Air Force and Archer entered contracts worth up to $142M for delivery of up to six Midnight aircraft, plus flight test data, pilot training, and certification support
Archer Aviation (Official): U.S. Air Force and Archer Enter Into Contracts Worth Up to 42 MillionVerified2023-06-01 - 3
USSOCOM awarded Archer Aviation a $110M firm-fixed-price IDIQ, SBIR Phase III sole-source, for Midnight Based Advanced Vertical Lift government operational experimentation; work through July 31, 2028
SOFX: Archer Aviation Lands 10 Million Contract for Advanced Vertical LiftVerified2023-08-02 - 4
Archer announced an exclusive partnership with Anduril Industries (Archer Defense) to jointly develop a hybrid-propulsion VTOL aircraft targeting a DoD program of record, alongside a $430M raise from Stellantis, United Airlines, Wellington Management, and 2PointZero
Bloomberg: Archer Aviation Partners With Anduril, Gets 30 Million in BackingVerified2024-12-12 - 5
United Airlines holds a conditional purchase agreement for Archer aircraft worth up to $1.5B; Stellantis is a manufacturing partner and investor building a production facility in Georgia
Stellantis: Stellantis Invests Additional 5 Million In Archer Following Recent Flight Test MilestoneVerified2024-07-01 - 6
Anduril and Archer unveiled Thunder, a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft, at Farnborough on July 20, 2026 — the first product of the Archer Defense partnership
DefenseScoop: Anduril unveils Thunder attack helicopter, a new loyal wingman droneVerified2026-07-20 - 7
Archer acquired a tiltrotor patent portfolio and key engineering talent from Overair, plus composite-manufacturing assets and a ~60,000 sq ft facility from Mission Critical Composites, to accelerate its defense aircraft program
Archer Aviation (Official): Archer Accelerates Defense Program with Two Strategic Acquisitions as it Pursues Growing DemandVerified2025-08-07