Flying taxi developer Archer Aviation raises $850M more in funding – News

Archer Aviation Inc. has raised $850 million in funding to support the rollout of its flying taxis.

The NYSE-listed company announced the deal on Thursday. The transaction was structured as a direct offering in which Archer sold 85 million shares for $10 apiece. In today’s trading session, its stock price dropped about 14% to exactly $10.

The deal marks Archer’s third nine-figure capital raise in under a year. It secured $300 million in February from a consortium that included Blackrock and closed a $430 million investment three months earlier. Following this week’s cash infusion, Archer’s total pro forma liquidity stands at about $2 billion.

“We now have the strongest balance sheet in the sector and the resources we need to execute both here in the U.S. and abroad,” said Archer founder and Chief Executive Officer Adam Goldstein.

Santa Clara, California-based Archer is developing a flying taxi called Midnight that takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane. According to the company, it can take four passengers on up to 100-mile trips with a top speed of 150 miles per hour. Midnight lands and takes off from specialized landing pads called vertiports.

The aircraft is powered by 12 electric rotors that can adjust their angle midflight to reduce drag. Archer says they’re 100 times quieter than a helicopter, which makes Midnight suitable for use in urban areas. The rotors draw power from six onboard battery packs optimized for quick charging, which reduces downtime between flights.

Midnight completed its first piloted test flight in late May. According to Archer, the aircraft reached altitudes of more than 1,500 feet. The successful test may have simplified the company’s latest capital raise by boosting investor confidence in its development roadmap.

Archer will use the funds to develop an “AI-based aviation software platform.” In parallel, it plans to build the infrastructure necessary to support flying taxi networks based on Midnight. The company has inked deal to establish such networks in the U.S., United Arab Emirates, India and South Korea.

Last year, Archer won a contract to provide air taxi services for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Midnight aircraft will ferry spectators and staff between sports venues in the city.

The company has also teamed up with United Airlines to launch multiple flying taxi routes in the U.S. One of those routers will ferry passengers from Manhattan to the Newark Liberty International Airport. As part of the deal, United has pre-ordered hundreds of Midnight flying taxis worth about $1.5 billion.

Image: Archer Aviation