Archer Aviation
"Unlock the skies"
Archer Aviation is a San Jose eVTOL maker whose Midnight air taxi and Anduril-built Halo cargo aircraft target urban mobility and defense logistics.
Archer Aviation is a publicly traded (NYSE: ACHR) electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer headquartered at 190 W Tasman Drive in San Jose, California. The company was founded in October 2018 by Adam Goldstein and Brett Adcock and has grown to roughly 900 employees as of 2025. Archer's original product line centers on Midnight, a piloted eVTOL aircraft designed to carry four passengers plus a pilot on trips of roughly 20 miles at cruise speeds up to about 150 miles per hour, using a 12-propeller configuration intended for use in urban air-taxi networks. The company received FAA Part 135 air carrier certification in June 2024 and Part 141 pilot school approval in February 2025, milestones needed to operate commercial air-taxi service in the United States.
In July 2026, Archer unveiled Halo, a commercial variant of a dual-use autonomous VTOL aircraft platform co-developed with defense technology company Anduril Industries. Unlike Midnight, Halo is designed to fly without an onboard pilot and is positioned for long-range autonomous cargo missions, extending Archer's product line from passenger air mobility into unmanned logistics and dual-use defense applications. Archer named Marubeni Aerospace as a strategic launch partner for Halo, and the aircraft was introduced publicly around the Farnborough International Airshow period. On August 1, 2026, Archer described Halo as a hybrid-electric autonomous VTOL intended for long-range cargo transport, extending beyond the short-hop urban routes targeted by Midnight toward logistics and defense-adjacent missions that require greater range and payload endurance.
Archer's commercial partnerships include an order for 200 Midnight aircraft from United Airlines, which has outlined plans for air-taxi routes connecting locations such as Newark, Los Angeles, and Chicago to nearby airports, as well as manufacturing support and equity investment from automaker Stellantis, which is helping scale Archer's production capacity. The company has also signed agreements with Southwest Airlines and private aviation services provider Jetex to support operational planning for air-taxi routes. Archer's earlier full-scale demonstrator aircraft, Maker, completed its first flight in December 2021 and achieved a full transition from vertical to horizontal wing-borne flight in November 2022, validating the aerodynamic and control approach later used in Midnight.
By combining a certified passenger eVTOL program (Midnight) with an autonomous, dual-use cargo platform developed with a defense contractor (Halo), Archer has positioned itself across three of RobotToday's application categories: aerospace and urban air mobility, defense and security through the Anduril-developed Halo variant, and logistics through Halo's cargo mission profile. The company manufactures its own airframes and flight-control systems rather than integrating third-party aircraft, placing it in the manufacturer role within the eVTOL and drone segment of the robotics and autonomous-systems industry.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Midnight
- Launch Year: 2022
4-passenger-plus-pilot eVTOL air taxi unveiled in 2022, designed for back-to-back 20-mile trips with 1,000+ lb payload.
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Contact Archer Aviation
WEBSITE
https://www.archer.com/HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2018
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
employees 500-1000
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Public
Funding Total
-
Certifications & Memberships
