WEBVTT - Chief Future Officer: Mark Mesler, Archer 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:06.360 Since founding Archer Aviation in twenty eighteen, Adam Goldstein has 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:10.160 been constructing a very real business based on a very 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:11.080 vivid vision. 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:14.520 Imagine you have a flight to thirty minutes and you're 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.079 just leaving your house. You can now pop into a 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.560 vehicle that can fly you to the airport in five minutes. 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:23.720 We're building the future of aerospace, the future of aerial 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:27.040 ride sharing. That's what electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:27.360 can do. 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:32.600 Electric vertical takeoff and landing EVY tolls for short vis 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:36.839 are aircraft designed to carry passengers short distances at high speeds, 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.960 running on batteries the recharge within minutes. It sounds like 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:44.760 science fiction. We're talking about an air taxi or a 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:49.280 flying taxi or aerial ride sharing, which is hard to 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.800 fathom for a lot of people anywhere in the world. 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:56.000 Electric air taxis were really introduced to the world by 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:59.240 being called flying cars, very similar to cars, like a 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.440 car with a wing. But the concept of calling these 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:08.000 products flying cars really creates this sense that these products 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:11.120 are many many years off, when the reality is the 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:12.960 products are very close to coming to market. 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:14.400 How close you will. 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:16.679 See these products come to market by the year twenty 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:17.200 twenty five. 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.000 Twenty twenty five is when the Federal Aviation Administration is 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:24.840 laid out a plan for ev tolls to begin limited 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:29.240 commercial operations. Getting to market will take vision, technical acumen, 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:33.400 not least shrewd allocation of resources. For this. Gold Steam 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.080 relies on CFO Mark Mesler. 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:41.199 Our timeline to complete the twenty twenty four annual operating plan. 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:44.720 We compliment each other. I'm used to supporting like the visionary, 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.480 passionate founder who's out there selling the dream. 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:50.560 And that's a classic Citlicon Valley story. 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:55.520 That's right, that's right, And I'm a rational, left brain 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:59.320 CFO who I can tell the story, but I have 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:02.520 to tell it in a way that investors will understand, 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:06.480 and it's very pragmatic and it's very databased. 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.680 I would say Mark has been really phenomenal in helping 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:13.079 us manage our process and really manage it with speed. 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:14.040 George just turning. 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:16.120 Mark and I partner really to try to keep the 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.440 company moving on this path, to really make sure we 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.160 hit our timelines, stay on budget, and ultimately have enough 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:22.680 capital to get to the finish line. 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:25.959 The launch of ev Toolls in twenty twenty five would 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:28.960 also be the starting line for an urban and ability 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.800 industry that many believe has the potential to be transformative. 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:36.560 The opportunity here is to really take the pain points 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:41.240 and hassle out of travel. These excitement cautious optimism. Let's 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:44.920 say it is excitement that you're going to create some 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:50.119 new forms of travel that should enhance you overall travel landscape. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.480 And we're closer to this being realized than we've ever been. 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.120 Some of the early cities like Los Angeles really and 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.280 New York and others started paying attention about I would 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.800 say twenty eight team really saw interest in the industry 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:07.160 then of what might happen with this technology coming As 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:11.680 the industry has advanced, there's more viable entrance to the market. 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:13.760 Now we're seeing other cities really try and figure out 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:16.280 where this technology fits in their urban landscapes. 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:20.600 Adam Goldstein, Mark Messler and the team at Archer are 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:24.399 on a path that's never been trodden. They believe it's 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:25.639 a path to success. 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:28.720 The product that Archer's building has the potential to change 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:32.720 the world, and I feel incredibly lucky for the opportunity 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:33.640 to build that we're building. 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.840 So we view finance and I view finance as a 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:41.400 key business partner to all the operating functions within the company. 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.080 We want to be a part of the decision support 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:48.880 mechanisms that help them make decisions daily. We also want 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.680 to be able to put process in place to facilitate 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.720 those decisions, such as it's non random outcomes. I'm a 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.520 big proponent of process. I'm a big proponent of creating 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.440 predictability in the business. There's things you can control and 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:03.280 there's things you can't control. And it's I can control 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.160 my R and D spend. I can control the processes 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:10.440 through which we're putting up our manufacturing plant. There's other 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:12.400 things I can control. So I have to be thinking 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:15.800 about what's around the corner. What is that potential bump 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:17.240 in the road that I'm gonna have to deal with. 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:34.719 In October twenty twenty three, Archer's Midnight aircraft made its 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:38.880 first flight at the company's testing facility in California, one 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:44.200 more milestone on the journey to FAA certification. Archer is 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.960 one of several eve Told companies aiming to come to 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:50.680 market in twenty twenty five. It's chosen a very particular 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:51.560 route to get that. 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:55.400 We are not trying to build the highest flying, farthest flying, 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:59.440 fastest flying vehicle. We will build the internal powertrain, which 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:03.360 for electric aviation hasn't existed before on certified products. But 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:07.320 Archer picked a specific business model and then picked an 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:11.279 approach that could be the fastest, most efficient path to market. So, 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.159 for example, we'll work with a company like Honeywell or 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.520 Saffron or Garment that have parts that are already certified 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.839 on planes today going through a certification process with a regulator. 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:24.480 When you start with parts or similar parts that are 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.200 used on existing planes, all of a sudden, there's a 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.000 lot of built in knowledge and trust with those parts. 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:32.839 So Mark and I will work together to take the 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:36.159 supply base, combine that together with some of the internal 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:38.400 core IP that we build to make sure we can 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:39.240 build this product. 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.839 Partnerships are foundational to Archer's commercialization strategy. 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.039 On the operating side, we partner with the United Airlines. 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.440 United has helped us not only in just design of 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.440 the aircraft, but also ways to really set up the 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:54.839 operations of the aircraft. 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.280 Archer and United planned to launch the company's first commercial 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.000 air taxi route between New accare Port and Lower Manhattan. 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.479 United is an investor but they're a very good operating partner. 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:08.680 They're also a customer. They gave us a an up 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:10.880 to a billion dollar contract for two hundred aircraft with 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:12.920 an option for another one hundred. 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.880 On the OEM side, we partnered with Stallantis, one of 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:20.040 the world's best and largest auto manufacturers. 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:24.000 Stillanti is also very strong investor, and we think about 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:28.040 unlocking scale in this business. Stallantis is helping us think 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:28.920 about that as well. 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.080 For ARJA, the twenty twenty four will be about scaling 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:36.800 up and accelerating execution in every area. 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:40.560 We're going through the certification process, we're building out our factory, 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:45.800 the manufacturing vector, we're working on commercial opportunities, and we're 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.880 also continuing to advance the text. Really a lot manufacturing 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.600 is where a lot of our capital is going as well. 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:54.480 In Covington, Georgia, we are building one of the largest 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.040 aerospace manufacturing facilities really in the world. The first phase 0:06:58.040 --> 0:06:59.800 of this project can build up the six hundred and 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:02.839 fifty planes per year and within the second phase around 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:05.039 two thousand planes per year. We need an area that's 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:09.039 very favorable towards new technologies, and Georgia really put together 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.960 a very compelling pitch to entice Archer to come. 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:14.440 It's in a great location outside of Atlantis. We have 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.920 access to a really good labor pool there, we have 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:19.520 access to universities there. 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:22.880 The goals to get the Georgia factory online by middle 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:23.480 of next year. 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.160 Increased production capacity will help Archer develop its relationship with 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:31.280 another customer slash partner, the US Air Force. 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:35.720 The military has taken a really unique approach to electric 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:38.080 air taxis. So the way that the Department Offense has 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:41.800 really partnered with the industry has been defined what they 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:45.800 call non kinetic solutions to use these vehicles for good. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.920 So you can think about things like rescue vehicles, and 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:50.880 so we start to find different use cases like that 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:53.280 in the military that can help us generate revenue and 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:54.960 really help the industry get going. 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:57.680 It's a channel for us to develop the tech. It's 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:02.320 a channel for us to get InCor funding for those programs. 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:06.000 And I think it's a it's a call option in 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.200 that if you get to the end of the program 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.080 and that becomes a generational type program for the DoD. 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.920 It's a call option a lot on a large potential 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:15.680 order and program for the company. 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:17.120 If it comes on offer, you take it. 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:17.640 Yep. 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:22.680 Archers laid plenty of groundwork for future revenue, but for now, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:27.520 Mark Messler's most pressing challenge as CFO is conserving capital. 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:30.080 You have to have the short term discipline to sort 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:34.120 of circle the wagons around cash. I mean, cash is oxygen. 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.600 I know where every ounce of cash is going. But 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:39.280 we also have to be nimble around that as well, 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.320 because things change by the day. 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.400 Archer went public in twenty twenty one in a reverse 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:49.840 merger with a spac Ken Moelis's at Las Crest Investments. 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.040 Through August twenty twenty three, the company raised over a 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:58.320 billion dollars from investors including Stillantis, Boeing, United Airlines, and 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:03.199 Caffee Woods Are Investment Management. Does that ARC investment open 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:06.280 doors for you to bring in different kinds of institutional 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:07.200 money going forward? 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:08.160 It does. 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:09.960 I mean, I think there's a lot of credibility that 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:13.120 comes in with an investor like ARC. As I think 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:17.520 about my top targeted list of investors over the next 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.040 two to three years, an investment like that gives us 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:22.959 some credibility and gives us a little bit of a 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:24.720 little bit of staying powers. I go in and talk 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:26.240 to other investors. 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:30.080 With the spac pipe now closed, Archers facing a new 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:31.720 phase of raising capital. 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:34.079 I know the folks who aren't willing to invest right 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:38.360 now may have large pockets of investment in the future. 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:40.319 So I want to be in front of them. I 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:43.040 wanting to show them progress. I want to create credibility 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:47.160 with them that we are marching towards our goals of commercialization. 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.280 They may not be a buyer at this point, but 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:51.560 I do want to spend a lot of time in 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:53.560 front of that other set that is a buyer at 0:09:53.600 --> 0:09:55.520 this point. They're interested. They want to be an early 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:58.440 adopter of the stock. They're interested in the story. 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.600 Archers stock performance this year suggests there's strong interest in 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:05.560 the story, especially if it plays out as planned with 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:11.120 FAA certification and commercialization by twenty twenty five. What happens 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:16.400 if the FAA delays and you are not certified in 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:17.800 twenty twenty five, So. 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:21.120 I would start thinking about cash cash preservation at that point. 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.320 We've got the capital to weather a delay, but it 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:26.440 just depends on how long that delay is. 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.640 Of course, there's always a potential for it to take 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:33.520 longer than expected. But the good news is there are 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:38.280 other applications like the military that can provide diverse revenue streams. 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:42.760 I'm confident that the FAA will move along spidious process 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.720 with Archer and with the industry to allow us to 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.040 get to market on timeframe that makes sense. 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:53.120 Mark Mesler joined Archer Aviation as CFO in early twenty 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:56.360 twenty two, bringing more than twenty five years of experience 0:10:56.600 --> 0:11:01.160 in the hardware, sustainability and aerospace sectors that included more 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:05.319 than a decade at Silicon Valley technology company Bloom Energy. 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:07.640 I started a Bloom. It was a pre revenue company. 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:11.320 We scale them to an IPO in July of twenty eighteen, 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:13.480 and operately when I left it was a probably billion 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.760 dollar runnery company. A lot of the engineering milestones and 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.040 that introduction of a hardware product we went through at Bloom, 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:22.559 A lot of the financing mechanisms that we use to 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.560 deploy our energy servers of Bloom I think have a 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.760 real application here in the aviation space as well in 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:29.160 the wing. 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:33.600 I visited Archer's flight testing facility in Salinas, California with 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:38.720 Mesler and Chief Commercial Officer Nikhil Goyle. Goyle co founded 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.040 Elevate Uber's air taxi division and co offered the twenty 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.240 sixteen white paper that laid out the vision for a 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:49.640 commercial air taxi industry. He explained how advances in technology 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.479 that brought that vision to the brink of reality. 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:56.359 Instead of using fuel and one large rotor like a helicopter, 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.320 you can use batteries to power a dozen rotors. So 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.160 on the Archer Night aircraft you see twelve rotors, six 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.880 in the back, six in the front. All twelve of 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.679 those let you take off vertically, just like a helicopter. 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:11.240 But then these six on the front here, they tilt forward. 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:13.640 And what that does is it lets you power forward 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.480 flight like an airplane in tandem with the wing that's 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:17.480 on our Archer aircraft. 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.240 We made the decision early on that we were only 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:23.800 going to invest internally on key differentiating technologies, and clearly 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:27.679 the powertrain is the key differentiating technology Yousour investment is 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:30.679 a recurring investment with respect to the powertrain team, the 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:32.600 battery team which is part of it, the engine team, 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:34.680 electric engine team which is part of it. And we 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.400 also have a lot of non recurring costs with the 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:41.280 other with the other components because we're not developing those internally, 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:45.040 we're using the existing aerospace defense supplier base for most 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:46.040 of the other components. 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.920 The Midnight testing aircraft was built at Archers manufacturing facility 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:55.160 in San Jose, around the corner from its corporate headquarters. 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:58.800 We bifurcated the production system such as San Jose is 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:02.320 really a test lab in a low rate introductory production plant, 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:06.199 so we'll build our first minimum six aircraft out of there. 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:11.360 We're currently building Covington, Georgia all the way up to 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:13.560 Phase two. We'll get us to twenty three hundred aircraft 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:14.200 per year as well. 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.760 Why spend the money on both? Why bifer kate as 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:18.240 you put it. 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.920 Well, it's optionality for us because we're going to see 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:22.960 what the market bears out. Nikhil and his team will 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:24.640 be out developing the market, so I have a call 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:29.040 option on that Phase two Phase one I can ramp 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:30.440 up to as the market supports. 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:36.079 At the core of Midnight's commercial appeal is the passenger experience. 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:40.320 Is designed to seat a pilot and four travelers plus luggage. 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:44.040 The test aircraft isn't fully fitted out for passengers, but 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.680 it's easy to imagine what the ride would feel like. 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:52.800 All right, this is it, This is inside Midnight Welcome. 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:57.559 The design is four passenger seats front row, back row, 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:02.240 and one pilot. How after all this time did you 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.640 arrive at that configuration four passengers, one pilot. 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:08.360 Our goal is to be the Uber of the air. 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.040 When I was at Uber, we took all the data 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.640 of Uber trips going back and forth all over the world, 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.280 and what we figured out was that four passengers was 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:19.120 the optimal configuration to do one thing, which is lower 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:22.440 the cost per passenger for these trips. So four passengers, 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:24.920 just like a sedan, you can split that cost amongst 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:27.800 four passengers and make that equivalent to what you might 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:29.080 spend on an Uber or attack. 0:14:29.240 --> 0:14:29.480 Right. 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:31.640 And there's a lot more to it from a financial 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.200 standpoint than just the passengers. That's one fact. We also 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.160 look at capacity on the route, so we understand what 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.440 the cost of the aircraft is. We understand what the 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:41.800 cost of the pilot is. We understand what the cost 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.400 of the repair and maintenance of this is, we understand 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:47.120 battery cost. All of that feeds into our unit level 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:50.760 economic model, and it does show that pricing at ride 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:57.640 sharing prices allows us to make an economic profit on the. 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.960 Back At Archer headquarters, I actually got to fly midnight, Okay, 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:04.680 not for real virtually in the company's E simulator. Training 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.000 pilots is another hurdle. The EVE tool industry will have 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:11.360 to clear how much burden are you going to take 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:14.600 in the training process? You know, why does that fall 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:16.440 to Archer? And if it does, what does it look 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:17.280 like for you guys? 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.520 I think initially we are going to be training our 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:22.680 own pilots. This is our own technology. I think eventually, 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:24.920 as we look to scale, and we're always talking about 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:28.440 unlocking scale, we could look to partners to help us 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.520 do some of the training. Early on, pilot training will 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.640 be a critical part of our of our own operations. 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.640 The simulators really help you get a sense for how 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.120 easy the vehicles are to fly. In fact, what we 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:46.880 found is people with less flying experience are actually better 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.560 at flying these planes because you don't have to unlearn 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:50.400 as much. 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:51.240 Does that include me? 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:52.560 That includes you? 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.920 So within five minutes you were able to take off, 0:15:56.760 --> 0:16:00.640 fly around the island of Manhattan and land successfully. And 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:02.760 that's your first time you've ever been in a simulator, 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:04.000 and that's pretty incredible. 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:08.440 The Eve toll industry is poised for takeoff in twenty 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.440 twenty five. That's when the FAA has said it plans 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:16.440 to authorize limited operation of electric air taxis utilizing existing 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:20.960 routes and infrastructure, while Archer Aviation puts is midnight aircraft 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:24.400 through testing for certification. It's also mapping out the launch 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:25.680 of its commercial business. 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:28.960 Twenty twenty five is going to start with a few 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.440 aircraft and a few cities. So the first places that 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.240 we're looking to fly are what we call our trunk routes, 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:39.520 which are city centers to airports. There's already existing operators 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:43.400 that fly those routes. So there's an existing heliport on 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:46.320 the Manhattan side, and there's an existing heliport on the 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:49.280 airport side, So imagine then all you have to do 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:51.560 is swap the equipment and add charging. 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.480 And if all goes according to plan, twenty twenty eight 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:58.120 will be the year the industry scales up. 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:02.160 Billy Norman, the former administrator, put out what he called 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:06.160 Innovate twenty twenty eight, which was the use of mass 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:08.960 amounts of air taxis at the LA Olympics in twenty 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:12.160 twenty eight. We're not talking ten planes, We're talking potentially 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.800 hundreds of planes. So the whole industry is getting ready. 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:18.479 Billy Nolan, who spearheaded the FAA report is now helping 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:22.760 guide Archer's progress to market. Is the company's chief safety officer. 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.480 We will be you know, entry into service in twenty 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:27.880 twenty five, and then you start to think about some 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.280 sort of scale by the time you get to twenty 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.119 twenty eight. We use an LA Olympics as a forcing function. 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:35.679 You start to move into a mature industry as you 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:38.080 get to twenty thirty and you've got like full maturation 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:40.399 by the time you're in twenty thirty three to twenty 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.160 thirty five, and then this will only continue to grow. 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.080 We've got a contract with United that is more of 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.639 like an OEM type relationship. We also are going to 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:53.800 be building our network to operate these as well, because 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:57.359 we think the long term value is that customer experience 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.960 and that Archer brand, and we want people to Archer everywhere. 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:02.600 That is how we're going to market and that's how 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:03.560 we generate revenue. 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.040 We're thinking about things like what cities are going to 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:09.000 deploy in, how do we work with the municipal authorities 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:12.480 to get permission and sort of support to go deploy 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:14.080 in those cities. How do we think about things like 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:17.080 infrastructure and creating a really magical consumer experience. 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:20.439 This is not about empty promises. It's about delivering on 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.760 a vision, and it's about executing into that vision and 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:28.359 then bringing something to market that is truly transformational, and 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:29.480 we will get there. 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:34.680 Archer's vision for its business is global. In October twenty 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.800 twenty three, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:41.520 the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to launch air taxi service 0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:44.240 in the UAE as early as twenty twenty six. 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.280 The UAE has been one of the leading countries to 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:50.959 say we want to bring air taxis to market. The 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:55.800 country wants new mobility solutions, new technology solutions. 0:18:55.880 --> 0:18:58.000 It's one of the fastest growing regions in the world, 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:00.240 and you've got millions of people moving to city and 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.480 a lot of congestion that we can help solve. You 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.760 We've gotten top level support from the SHAKE, We've gotten 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:09.199 top level support from the GCA, which is the regulatory body, 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:11.080 as well as the government of Bobbi Dabby. 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:14.040 I think we may very well see some of those 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:19.440 global deployments first before we see really large scale deployments 0:19:19.440 --> 0:19:20.439 in the United States. 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:22.560 I do think you're going to see a very global 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:26.520 footprint and it also will be partly driven by how 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.880 quickly the regulatory agencies move. There's a lot of different 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:33.840 areas that need to kind of come together to make 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.879 this work. And in some jurisdictions, for various reasons, it 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.840 might be easier to launch operations than in others. So 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:41.920 I think this is going to be a very global approach. 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:45.119 I feel very confident that the industry will bring aircraft 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:48.320 to market in a very reasonable timeframe, and by the 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:52.200 twenty thirties, you will see these aircraft widely used around 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:55.680 the world and people start to understand the real potential 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:56.840 what the industry can be. 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:01.119 CFO mart Mesla will play a central when helping Archer 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:05.600 fulfill its potential and deliver on its promise. I asked 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.600 him what he sees when he looks ahead. The year 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:13.000 is twenty twenty eight, you are still Archer, CFO. What 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:15.840 does your job look like then different to today. 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.000 Well, at that point, I'll be running a multi billion 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:24.959 dollar organization. I've created, along with the executive team at Archer, 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:29.000 a once in a generation type company that is moving people, 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.480 you know, throughout the world in urban environments, and we're 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:38.240 still looking to grow and build outside of the geographies 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:40.159 that we're there. I mean, that's really the goal for 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:41.000 twenty twenty eight. 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.960 What's the one challenge that you're you're worried about most 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:50.800 that you think you're going to have to confront. 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:53.960 It's probably not one thing. It's the unknown. I can 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:57.480 control everything in our budget, I can control our business model. 0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:00.240 There's always something that is around the corner, so we 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:03.359 have to have our radar on and I have to 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:06.160 have the right processes in place to deal with that unknown. 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:08.800 For me in the past, that's the one thing that 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:10.760