Archer partners with Nvidia to build AI aviation tech
Joby Aviation (JOBY) and Archer Aviation (ARCHER) have developed an uncanny ability to immediately respond to each other's latest business update with an update of their own.
The two rivals competing to dominate the nascent electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) market have matched announcements on everything.
Those include entries into the defense sector, seeking to enter the Trump administration’s VTOL pilot program, and making strides to expand their US-based businesses into the Middle East.
On Wednesday, Joby announced that it had purchased a 700K square-foot manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, supporting its efforts to double manufacturing of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) in 2027.
On Thursday, Archer made its own manufacturing-related announcement, revealing a partnership with Nvidia (NVDA) to develop and deploy next generation AI technologies for aviation using the NVIDIA IGX Thor platform.
Archer noted that the companies have been working together since early 2025. It plans to integrate NVIDIA IGX Thor into future iterations of its aircraft programs.
NVIDIA IGX Thor is the chip giant's most powerful safety-capable AI computing module.
Archer plans to debut its Nvidia integration at its newly acquired Hawthorne airport in central Los Angeles, although it did not indicate when that would happen.
The company said that Hawthorne will serve as its "test bed for its AI-powered technologies," in addition to being a hub for its operations.
Archer will be focusing on three core areas with AI technology: enhancing pilot safety and predictive awareness, creating seamless airspace integration and developing autonomy-ready flight controls.
The partnership with Nvidia was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
“CES has always been a launchpad for technologies that reshape industries, so we’re proud to announce our AI collaboration with NVIDIA here,” Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said in a statement.
“NVIDIA’s AI compute capabilities and software stack give us the foundation to accelerate toward safer, smarter aircraft systems and modernize how aviation interfaces with the world’s airspace.”
Archer's stock gained 3.5% on Thursday.
It said that the integration of NVIDIA IGX Thor into its development pipeline is "already well underway," with "broader applications expected across manufacturing, aircraft fleet operations and pilot training."
The company had previously announced in March that it was partnering with Palantir (PLTR) to develop software for nex-gen aviation systems, including air traffic control, movement control and route planning.
Goldstein said on an earnings call at the time that the partnership with Palantir is an “opportunity to be a key contributor to our country’s ambitious vision, modernizing our aviation ecosystem in record time” that will help “lay the foundation for the scale we plan to achieve with urban air mobility.”