Archer raises $300m to further defence venture

Archer has raised $301.75m to continue development of its hybrid aircraft platform designed initially for the defence market. 

This raise, lead by investors including BlackRock, brings Archer’s total liquidity position to about $1bn. The funds will go toward Archer’s Defense division launched in December which is aimed at building a hybrid-propulsion VTOL aircraft. 

Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer said: “I believe the opportunity for advanced vertical lift aircraft across defence appears to be substantially larger than I originally expected. As a result, we are raising additional capital to help us invest in critical capabilities like composites and batteries to help enable us to capture this opportunity and more.” 

The financing provided for the purchase and sale of 35.5m shares of Archer’s Class A common stock at a price of $8.50 per share based on a volume-weighted average price of the Class A common stock, in a registered direct offering.

The shares of Class A common stock were offered pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-284812) filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on February 11th, 2025, which became automatically effective upon filing. 

Moelis & Company is acting as the exclusive placement agent for this offering.

Archer has also released some estimated preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter (Q4) 2024. The firm has reported that its GAAP operating expenses will be within the $120m to $140m range and total non-GAAP operating expenses are in line with its guidance range of $95m to $110m. Archer also confirmed that it does not expect that its total non-GAAP operating expenses for Q1 2025 will materially increase over the Q4 guidance.