Joby sues air taxi rival Archer over business secrets
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Joby Aviation is suing its rival Archer Aviation over business secrets. Photo courtesy of Joby
Joby Aviation is suing its biggest air taxi rival, Archer Aviation, claiming Archer used information stolen by a former Joby employee to interfere with a confidential real estate deal.
Why it matters: Joby and Archer are bitter rivals in the race to certify electric air taxis, and the companies are competing to open future vertiports in major cities.
- The information allegedly stolen puts other business and regulatory strategies at risk as well, Joby contends.
Driving the news: Joby's complaint alleges that its former employee took confidential information about a pending real estate partnership to Archer, which then used it to try to strike "a more lucrative deal" with the same developer.
- "This is corporate espionage, planned and premeditated," Joby said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in California Superior Court in Santa Cruz, where the company is based.
Zoom in: Joby's then-U.S. state and local policy lead, George Kivork, allegedly downloaded dozens of files and sent some content to his personal email two days before he resigned in July to take the job at Archer, according to the complaint.
- Joby says it discovered Kivork's actions after being alerted by the developer that Archer was offering better terms.
- Kivork, also named in the suit, did not reply to a request for comment.
The other side: Archer called the suit "baseless litigation" in a statement to CNBC.
- Archer's CEO, Adam Goldstein, posted his own response on X.
- "Let me be clear, Archer has no deal with this developer. Joby's accusations are fantasy. I get why Joby is frustrated…they've watched us win key deals time and time again. First it was Overair, then the Olympics, then the Lilium patents, and then the Hawthorne Airport. Suing us for a deal that we never even bid on is wild. I guess desperation really clouds judgment."
Flashback: Archer has faced similar charges before.
- Boeing-owned Wisk Aero in 2021 accused a pair of Archer engineers of stealing proprietary information when they left Wisk. Archer later sued Wisk, accusing it of engaging in a "smear campaign" against Archer.
- In 2023, the two sides settled, with Boeing agreeing to invest an undisclosed amount in Archer, which in turn would exclusively use Wisk's self-flying technology in future aircraft.
