Boeing's Wisk Aero Acquires SkyGrid to Boost Autonomous Air Taxi Plans

SkyGrid, an Austin-based company specializing in airspace integration technology, has become a subsidiary of Wisk Aero, the California-based company looking to launch the nation’s first self-flying air taxi service.

SkyGrid was developed by Austin-based SparkCognition and Boeing Co. in 2018 as a service provider working to integrate pilotless aircraft into global airspace. Now, it’s being folded into Wisk — also owned by Boeing — to help the company bring its Generation 6 autonomous aircraft to market.

"This alignment with Wisk marks an important step in the advancement of autonomous aviation," Jia Xu, CEO of SkyGrid, said in a statement. "By deploying our comprehensive airspace integration capabilities with Wisk’s autonomous eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles) technology, we are paving a path to safe, efficient and increasingly autonomous operations for all. Together, we are doing the hard, practical and necessary work to unlock aviation autonomy and digital airspace."

Wisk is looking to bring air taxis to Texas within the next decade. The company announced last year that its first commercial market will be in the Houston metro area. The company also hosted a demo in Austin ahead of this year’s South by Southwest conference to showcase its Generation 6 aircraft, which will be capable of carrying four passengers up to 100 miles to their destinations at a cost similar to an Uber or Lyft ride.

The autonomous aircraft has 12 lift fans that enable it to take off and land vertically from launch and landing sites known as vertiports. Once airborne, the front six fans tilt forward to propel the aircraft to its destination. Painter said the aircraft combines the capabilities of a helicopter and an airplane.

With Wisk prepping to launch in the coming years, Texas is looking to build up its infrastructure to support advanced air mobility companies. Port San Antonio is looking to make its tech campus a hub for the autonomous aircraft by building a vertiport. Last week, the city of San Antonio awarded a contract for a new parking garage at San Antonio International Airport that will include a landing pad for air taxis.

Wisk noted that the partnership with SkyGrid is a major step forward for safely scaling advanced air mobility by helping enable automated flight rules, which are emerging concepts and regulations designed to accommodate and support autonomy in aviation. No terms of the deal were disclosed, and it's unclear how much Boeing has invested in SkyGrid.

"To unlock the full potential of Advanced Air Mobility, we must also have advanced airspace," Sebastien Vigneron, CEO of Wisk, said in the announcement. "By collaborating with SkyGrid, we’re vertically integrating our own aircraft autonomy technologies with their established airspace automation capabilities, accelerating the path to safer, more efficient air travel in the national airspace system."