Building flying taxis takes billions of dollars. So instead of relying on traditional venture rounds, Archer Aviation went public just a few years after it was founded.

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, to talk about the unconventional fundraising strategy behind building one of the most capital-intensive startups around.

Archer is building electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, designed to turn trips that can take 90 minutes by car into flights of 10 or 15 minutes. The company is developing the technology for both commercial air taxis and defense applications and has been selected as the exclusive air taxi provider for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

But developing and certifying an entirely new category of aircraft requires enormous amounts of capital. Adam explains why he realized early on that raising $50 million or $100 million at a time wouldn’t be enough and why he decided to take Archer public when the company had fewer than 100 employees. Since then, Archer has raised nearly $4 billion.

Adam breaks down how he prepared Archer to take advantage of the public markets, why timing matters so much when pursuing an IPO, and how retail investors and online communities have changed the equation for companies building ambitious hardware. He also explains why he thinks the window for earlier-stage companies to access public markets may be opening again.

Join us at TechCrunch Disrupt October 13-15 in San Francisco. Use promo code: buildmode25 for 25% off your ticket.

Chapters:
00:00 — Why Archer went public so early
01:36 — What Archer Aviation is building
02:21 — Air taxis, defense and the future of eVTOLs
04:05 — Adam’s journey from finance to founder
06:25 — Why electric aviation became possible
09:29 — Will people actually ride in flying taxis?
11:27 — Archer’s plans for the 2028 LA Olympics
13:50 — Why building hardware requires billions
16:54 — Was going public the right decision?
17:40 — How retail investors changed the public markets
21:46 — How Archer prepared to go public early
24:50 — Is the early IPO window opening again?
26:42 — What a startup needs before going public
28:09 — Why Archer chose a SPAC
29:57 — Should first-time founders consider going public?
30:55 — How Archer attracted talent before it had the money
32:48 — Why capital became Archer’s competitive advantage

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33:39 — What comes after the exit?
35:25 — Adam’s advice for founders building capital-intensive startups