Joby Aviation is suing Archer Aviation, alleging that its former employee George Kivork stole trade secrets worth millions of dollars. The complaint claims Kivork shared confidential information with a strategic partner while working at Archer, compromising Joby’s exclusive deal with the same partner.
Joby Aviation filed a lawsuit against Archer Aviation and its ex-employee George Kivork in California Superior Court on Thursday. According to the complaint, Kivork stole trade secrets from Joby two days before leaving for Archer, including confidential partnership terms, business strategies, and technical information about Joby’s aircraft. The stolen files were then shared with a strategic partner, compromising Joby’s exclusive deal.
Archer Aviation responded quickly, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and claiming that its employee onboarding procedures prevent such incidents. Eric Lentell, Archer’s chief legal officer, stated that Joby is trying to distract from its own shortcomings by filing this lawsuit.
The two companies are developing electric air taxis and pursuing defense applications for their technology. Both have signed exclusive deals with prominent manufacturers, including Anduril and L3Harris Technologies. The lawsuit has put the competitors on a combative path, but Archer has previously faced similar allegations before settling with Wisk in 2021.
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Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/20/joby-aviation-makes-corporate-espionage-claims-in-lawsuit-against-rival-archer