Joby Aviation sues Archer Aviation, alleging stolen trade secrets and corporate interference

Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation has filed a lawsuit against Archer Aviation, accusing its competitor of using stolen trade secrets taken by a former Joby employee to interfere with its business.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Superior Court of California in Santa Cruz County, outlines a series of allegations against Archer and George Kivork, a former Joby employee who later joined Archer. Joby alleges that Kivork stole confidential information that Archer then used.

According to the complaint, two days before announcing his resignation, Kivork “exfiltrated a cache of highly valuable Joby filings containing confidential partnerships terms, business and regulatory strategies, infrastructure strategies for vertiports and airport access, and technical information about Joby’s aircraft and operations.”

Joby claims Archer approached one of its strategic partners and disclosed details about confidential terms of its exclusive agreement with Joby — information allegedly known to Kivork and included in the files he is accused of taking.

“This is corporate espionage, planned and premeditated,” the lawsuit says. “Kivork and Archer’s behavior has left Joby with no choice but to bring this action to protect Joby’s valuable confidential and proprietary information.”

Archer quickly pushed back.

“Joby is turning to baseless litigation in an attempt to distract from its own shortcomings and slow down its leading competitor,” said Eric Lentell, Archer’s chief legal and strategy officer, in an emailed statement to TechCrunch.

“Joby’s case is entirely without merit. The complaint, regarding a non-technical employee who recently joined Archer in a business development role, does not identify a single specific trade secret let alone any evidence of misappropriation,” Lentell said. “As Joby knows, Archer has implemented rigorous employee onboarding procedures to prevent against the very thing it is accused of. Joby is improperly attempting to weaponize the legal system to achieve through bad faith litigation what it cannot accomplish through fair competition. Archer remains focused on building the future of advanced aviation in America.”

Both Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, based in California, went public in 2021 through SPAC mergers. Both companies are developing electric air taxis and exploring defence applications for their technology.

Earlier this year, Archer signed an exclusive partnership with defence technology company Anduril to develop a hybrid gas-electric VTOL aircraft for defence missions jointly. Joby, meanwhile, signed an agreement with L3Harris Technologies to explore the development of a gas-turbine hybrid VTOL aircraft capable of autonomous flight.

This new lawsuit places the two rivals on a much more adversarial path.

Archer has faced similar legal challenges in the past. In 2021, Wisk — now a Boeing subsidiary — sued Archer for alleged theft of intellectual property and confidential information, including over 50 trade secrets taken by a former Wisk employee who later joined Archer. That legal battle lasted two years before both sides settled and agreed to collaborate.