Archer Aviation is developing a new wave of artificial intelligence technologies for the aviation industry using the NVIDIA IGX Thor platform.
Announced at CES 2026, the collaboration focuses on the high-impact domain of Physical AI to improve aircraft safety, airspace integration, and autonomy-ready systems. Archer intends to debut this integration at its Hawthorne airport facility in Los Angeles, which will serve as both an operational hub for its air taxi network and a primary test bed for AI-powered flight technologies.
The two companies have been collaborating since early 2025. Archer plans to incorporate NVIDIA IGX Thor, a powerful safety-capable computing module, into future iterations of its aircraft programs. The hardware is designed for high-reliability, real-time onboard computing in safety-critical environments, supporting advanced perception and predictive operations.
The development roadmap focuses on three core pillars of aviation technology. First, the partnership aims to enhance pilot safety by using high-throughput edge computing to process flight-path data in real-time. Second, the companies are developing AI systems to modernize airspace management, including improved routing logic and dynamic traffic-aware planning. Finally, the integration pairs NVIDIA hardware with Archer’s proprietary avionics to create a computing architecture capable of supporting future semi-autonomous and autonomous flight.
Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO., commented, “CES has always been a launchpad for technologies that reshape industries, so we’re proud to announce our AI collaboration with NVIDIA here. NVIDIA’s AI compute capabilities and software stack give us the foundation to accelerate toward safer, smarter aircraft systems and modernize how aviation interfaces with the world’s airspace.”
The integration of NVIDIA IGX Thor into Archer’s development pipeline is currently underway. Beyond flight controls, the companies expect to see broader applications of this technology in manufacturing, fleet operations, and pilot training as Archer continues to expand its ecosystem of AI-focused partnerships.
