The CEO of eVTOL developer Wisk Aero has confirmed that the Californian startup has become a fully owned subsidiary of Boeing.
Wisk CEO, Bryan Yutko, made the announcement while attending a Boeing media event in the United States (US) on May 31, 2023.
Yutko, who previously worked for Boeing as the chief engineer for Sustainability and Future Mobility, did not go into specifics of the agreement terms.
On June 1, 2023, the Wisk Aero website had already been updated with the ownership developments.
“In 2023, Wisk became a fully owned subsidiary of Boeing. While we operate separately, this relationship allows us to tap into Boeing’s development, testing, and certification expertise, and more,” the website stated.
Boeing had previously been one of two shareholders, the other being Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) startup Kittyhawk.
Wisk Aero was founded in 2019 as a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk Corporation, which was started by Google co-founder Larry Page.
In 2022 Boeing invested almost half a billion dollars into the self-flying electric air taxi developer.
In a statement on January 24, 2022, Wisk confirmed that it has secured $450 million from Boeing.
According to Wisk its latest Generation 6 aircraft is the “world’s first all-electric, autonomous, four-seat eVTOL air taxi designed for passenger transport”.
Wisk’s aircraft is a fixed-wing platform, powered by 12 independent rotors (six on each wing). It can fly at altitudes of between 1500 and 5000 feet, traveling at speeds of up to 100 miles an hour (160km/h) with a range of about 25 miles (40 km).
