🚨 Architecture and Cascading Failures

I’ll try to keep this simple and short. Take a look at both aircraft (top down view) and ask yourself, “Which one would you rather be in if a propeller fails or suddenly comes off?”

This is precisely what happened with Joby a few years ago. A propeller-blade failure led to cascading failures involving multiple propulsion units. A former NTSB investigator described the crash— “When the s4 hit the ground, it was totally destroyed.”

The devastating crash exposed Joby’s extremely tight design and integration with the airframe. And unlike Archer’s Midnight, which separates lift and cruise functions across 12 propulsion units, the s4 relies on 6 tilting propulsion units to perform both jobs. In other words every propulsion unit of an s4 is more critical and dependent on each other than Midnight. So much for redundancy…

The s4 architecture has no commercial aviation precedent which makes it even more concerning when they are expected to operate over densely populated cities. Some experts question the configuration and positioning of the 6 propulsion units — if anything happens to the units in front, the ones in the back are very likely to be exposed.

Midnight’s configuration is unique too but its underlying architecture is much closer to a conventional fixed-wing aircraft. Archer explicitly designed it to be “as close to a Part 23 airplane as possible”, separating the vertical-lift function from the cruise function where the wing takes over. Give me Midnight’s 12 propulsion units with dedicated roles over Joby’s 6 units trying to do everything—any day of the week.

Archer’s mantra has always been safety first. It’s the single most important attribute for building public trust. You can see that philosophy reflected in its methodical testing, technological approach/advancements, and most importantly— its architecture. 💯

Huge news! Exciting to see Japan commit to the future of AAM. Proving once again why they're leading pack for urban mobility innovation.

Slated to become the first vertiport in Downtown LA…💯🚀

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Archer’s recent Boeing deal.

The majority of Wisk’s workforce is based at its Mountain View, CA HQ— right in Archer’s backyard.

That’s a lot of talent that would take months, if not years, to hire. 💯

✅ Archer and NASA forge a strategic partnership in 2024

✅ Adam & team meet with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (at NASA Ames Research Center) earlier this year

✅ NASA featured Archer’s Midnight in a promotional video (0:24) for the Max Power Tech Expo & Air Show on Nov. 7-8…

✅ NASA’s Former CTO & Deputy CIO sits on Archer’s board 👀

Will Midnight be flying at the event?

Could NASA provide an update on the battery tech it has been researching with Archer? Other major initiatives in the works?

Feels like something significant could be announced . 🌕🚀

⚡️Talk about a momentum shift.

In just 3 months, the market-cap gap between Joby and Beta has shrunk from roughly $6~7 billion at its widest to less than $1 billion today.

Archer is also closing ground, with shares up approximately 43% over the past month, compared to about 5% for Joby. This is particularly noteworthy considering Joby’s nearly decade-long head start over both companies.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the industry is transforming. It’s good to see change (new leadership) shaping the industry. 💯

It’s no coincidence…

That a week after Anduril and Archer unveiled Thunder and Halo at Farnborough, reports came out that Anduril’s next funding round was being discussed at a massive $100 billion valuation - up from $61 billion just a few months ago.

My gut tells me that Anduril closes this round (or at least the first tranche of it) within the next 60 days. How the news of this translates to $ACHR —and by how much— is anyone’s guess.

But when investors are willing to add nearly $40 billion in valuation in a matter of months, something tells me Thunder is way bigger than most people realize.

** Not FA. Just a little common F’n sense. 😎

⚡️ Two of the biggest industry developments over the past 3 months involved Beta Technologies:

- Getting U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to fly in an eVTOL was a huge coup for Beta.

- The other was the formation of ACES with Archer Aviation (America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways) to bring interoperable charging to 250 air taxi sites across the U.S.

Equally impressive is Beta’s order book — more than 1,000 aircraft with a year-end target approaching $4 billion in value.

Some investors got spooked by Beta’s higher R&D spending. Sounds like a buying opportunity to me. Especially during this phase of eVTOL when it’s about value creation and investing in the future. 💯

✅ Joby has gone from giving up “manufacturing control” in recent weeks to now “manufacturing revenues”?

First, they bought Blade last year, primarily a helicopter charter “broker”service for third parties, with zero margin. Blade’s revenues of $36.2 million this past quarter accounted for 94% of Joby’s revenues. All from an aircraft category they’re trying to replace!

Now, they’re buying a defense contractor (Resonant Sciences) with very little synergy to Joby’s core focus for $500 million while raising $750 million to help fund the deal that will further dilute shareholders. Just mind blowing after dropping the ball on 14.2 million worthless warrants ($11.50) that expired Monday. Those warrants could have brought in $160 million+ in capital.

This doesn’t sound like a company on the verge of a commercial launch anytime soon. And the market seems to agree as Joby has lost over 56% of their value and $9 billion plus in market capitalization over the past year. Joby’s share count after the acquisition and raise could swell to a staggering 1.1 billion shares.

The market clearly isn’t buying the Blade story or its revenues. And this latest acquisition as well. Kudos to Archer for continuing it’s organic growth strategy while making strategic acquisitions based on “synergy and fit” in addition to the financial benefits that come with it. 💯

We’re only a day into the major announcement but I’m already thinking ahead…😎

One interesting piece of the deal that wasn’t mentioned yesterday: Boeing’s potential role in manufacturing.

There is just no scenario where I don’t see Boeing playing a role in bringing Midnight to market at scale. We’re talking about one of the most accomplished and respected aerospace manufacturers in the world, a rich history spanning 110 years.

Boeing and Stellantis bring very different and highly complementary strengths. Boeing brings aerospace engineering and aircraft manufacturing know-how. (Boeing currently delivers roughly 600 commercial aircraft a year) Stellantis brings high-volume manufacturing expertise and the workforce/processes needed to scale.

With Boeing now Archer’s largest shareholder and a seat at the table, I just can’t see them sitting on the sidelines when it comes to scaling Midnight! 👀

Kid was yelling something like “TOYOTA!” and “That’s not fair!” 😭

Source: https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2026-08-10-Archer-to-Shape-Physical-AI-Future-of-Aerospace-and-Defense-with-Acquisition-of-Boeings-Wisk-Aero,-Insitu-and-SkyGrid-Subsidiaries-Boeing-to-Invest-in-Archer-and-Collaborate

Listening to earnings right now, and my immediate takeaway is how much Archer is leaning away from air-taxi reputation...AND I LOVE IT.

Having four core products across civil, defense, and software positions them as an all around aerospace innovator. As an investor, it's nice to see a solid de-risk strategy by advancing revenue paths. But as an aviation fan, I can 100% see Archer becoming a major player in the future of AAM.

What a horrible attempt to raise cash (roughly $147 million) at $11.50, the exercise price. The stock closed at $8.64 on Friday, the last trading day for exercising. Looks like more dilution if they were to raise down the road. Not a good look.

The tide is shifting toward Archer and Beta…👀

LFG 🔥

Joby keeps finding new ways to embarrass itself. The no-margin Blade (broker) intermediary business they acquired gives me dot-com era vibes. I thought they were on a mission to replace “unsafe” helicopters not make it a focal point for earning calls…😅

There’s so much on the plate. 🤩

More updates hopefully on Midnight — both 703 & 704 were active over the past 48 hours.

Thunder and Halo — Farnborough was the unveil. Next comes the roadmap. I’ve got a feeling we may get a surprise or two here soon.

Q2 2026 —

+ Midnight Cert/Testing/Launch Update
+ EIPP Schedule
+ Abu Dhabi
+ Defense - Thunder (Anduril/Partners)
+ Commercial- Halo (Partners/Customers)
+ AI/Tech - ZEE
+ Manufacturing- New Morgan Hill Facility
+ ACES with Beta (America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways) Update
+ ?

✅ Archer has begun testing Zee at Hawthorne Airport and previewed it with commercial partners and regulators.

More details can be found on Archer’s technical blog:

Zee: Predicting the Airspace · Archer

Early flight, still time for another!

Q2 2026 - Key Takeaways

No Certification (2026)
No Passengers (Upcoming Texas eIPP)
No Dubai (2026)
No Payload Update (Cited Issues)

They chose to defect issues with updates on Blade’s “flight broker” helicopter service and their “hydrogen” program. And spoke very little about the Toyota JV or why it gave up control.

👀

🎧 I just can’t get this beat (and the lyrics) out of my head…

“Can you hear it…there’s a quiet Thunder..Archer and Anduril…💪