Though they don't quite have the look of flying cars, electric air taxis are on the brink of becoming a more regular sight. Archer Aviation (ACHR) -), which announced an adjusted EBITDA loss of around $76 million for the second quarter of the year, noted earlier in August that it had received an Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The certificate means that Archer can begin test flights of its Midnight aircraft, something CEO Adam Goldstein said is a huge step forward on the path toward commercializing its air taxis by 2025.
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Goldstein said at the time that Archer plans to begin flying almost daily throughout the fall season in an effort to nail a certification that will allow them to start taking passengers.
As the company inches closer to commercialization, the skies are beginning to clear ahead; it settled its lawsuit with Boeing on Aug. 10, and subsequently said that the two companies are partnering up to develop autonomous flight technology together.
And Ark Invest, always with its eye toward disruptive innovation, has been seemingly bullish on the company's outlook as of late. The firm picked up $2.15 million worth of shares in Archer Aug. 15, adding another $16 million investment the next day.
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Ark continued this buying spree Monday, picking up a total of around $3.8 million worth of shares in Archer, based on the company's closing price of $6.39. Ark's flagship Innovation ETF picked up the bulk of the purchase, at more than 500,000 shares
Ark's Autonomous Tech and Robotics ETF added nearly 80,000 shares and the company's Space Exploration and Innovation fund added just under 20,000 shares.
Ark Innovation holds a total of around $78 million in Archer Aviation, weighted at around 1% of the fund, whose largest holding -- at nearly $800 million -- remains Tesla (TSLA) -).
The electric aircraft industry brought in $8.5 billion in 2021, according to a report from Allied Market Research. This number is expected to jump to $23.5 billion by 2031, at a growth rate in excess of 10%.
But the industry still has a bunch of roadblocks ahead, including regulatory approval, infrastructure to support their craft and charging issues with the large batteries needed to power the taxis.
Archer's stock has more than tripled (up more than 240%) in 2023 to date.
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