"Lilium, which was founded in 2015, was developing a vertical take-off and landing aircraft with speeds of up to 100 km/h. The company raised more than $1 billion from investors before going public in 2021 on the Nasdaq Exchange via a reverse merger with a blank-check company, SPAC Qell. While it managed to land high-profile investors like Tencent and lock in customers, including an order for 100 electric jets from Saudi Arabia, it burned through cash long before it could deliver a product."
"An Archer spokesperson said the patents span critical eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) technologies, including high-voltage systems, flight controls, ducted fans, and advanced aircraft design. The new patents represent a "strong addition" to Archer's growing IP portfolio, which now totals more than 1,000 global patent assets, the spokesperson noted in an email. What Archer plans to do with those patents isn't totally clear, although there are hints."
Lilium entered insolvency after multiple failed restructuring attempts and a last-ditch investor bid. A bankruptcy administrator ran a competitive sale of assets. Archer Aviation won the auction with an €18 million bid to acquire all 300 of Lilium's patent assets, beating Ambitious Air Mobility Group and Joby Aviation. Lilium had raised over $1 billion and gone public via a SPAC in 2021 while developing a VTOL aircraft capable of about 100 km/h, but it exhausted cash before delivering a product. The acquired patents cover high-voltage systems, flight controls, ducted fans, and advanced aircraft design, broadening Archer's IP and potential market applications.
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