Archer Aviation selling up to 50 Midnight eVTOL aircraft to KakaoMobility

Archer Aviation and KakaoMobility, Korean mobility as a service platform service company, signed an agreement to partner for joint participation in the K-UAM Grand Challenge that covers the planned purchase by KakaoMobility of up to 50 of Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft worth up to an approximate value of $250M, including pre-delivery payments. KakaoMobility plans to own and operate Archer’s Midnight aircraft in Korea, offering electric air taxi flights to its over 30M registered users on its Kakao T mobile app starting as early as 2026. KakaoMobility and Archer anticipate starting the service in Seoul. KakaoMobility, along with its consortium partners LG UPlus Corp. and GS E&C, have chosen Archer as their eVTOL aircraft partner to ensure they reach their goal of conducting public demonstration flights with eVTOL aircraft in the country in late 2024. KakaoMobility will pay $7M in 2024 to Archer as the first installment to help fund early commercialization efforts in Korea, with a second installment in Q1 2025. The collaboration will also focus on building best-in-class infrastructure, including vertiports and air traffic management systems, to ensure safe and efficient operations.