Imagine this: you’re at home in Dubai Marina, it’s Friday 7pm and you have a dinner reservation at 8pm in DIFC. Set off now and you might just arrive in time for coffee and dessert. Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer Aviation, wants to alleviate the stress of road traffic congestion and instead whizz you to dinner in five minutes in one of his helicopters or, to give them their proper name, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
“I want to build the world that I want to live in,” says Goldstein from his office in San Francisco. “I’m obsessed with science fiction and I’ve always wanted to design beautiful products that could change our everyday lives.”
Looking like they were ripped from a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster set in the future, Goldstein’s Midnight aircraft are indeed beautiful. “Airplanes and helicopters are built mathematically, so they’re pretty ugly,” says Goldstein. “We’re all still flying the old tube and wings that were designed during the Cold War. We haven’t gotten much new in terms of aviation – apart from baggage fees. I wanted to build a product that could create an emotional response in people. This is a totally new category and it feels good to innovate an industry that is desperately in need of innovation.”
Now going through final checks, Midnight underwent a recent successful test flight over Abu Dhabi. Goldstein believes passengers will be flying between Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the near future.
The UAE, he says, has been an easy place to do business – even the leadership of the country has taken an interest. “His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan [Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi] came to see us a few months ago and was super excited,” says Goldstein. “He’s a helicopter pilot and he understands the product. He talked to us for 15 minutes and loved what we were doing.”
I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DESIGN BEAUTIFUL PRODUCTS THAT COULD CHANGE OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
Adam Goldstein
Goldstein visits the UAE around once a month and feels energised by its appetite for progress. “The UAE is probably the most unique country in the world when it comes to innovation,” he says. “You get top level support and the whole country comes together to help you. The UAE wants to build cities of the future, but they also want to create jobs and keep building the economy.”
Outspoken on social media and an engaging public speaker, Goldstein is a charismatic figure forging a new era of flight. Describing himself as “an evangelist for aviation,” much of his day is spent establishing infrastructure for countries, which requires meeting prime ministers, presidents, royalty and ministers of transportation.
Although exciting, being the figurehead of a pioneering $6 billion company in a burgeoning industry doesn’t leave much time for switching off. “I was probably in five countries last week,” laughs Goldstein, a New Yorker. “The pace is extraordinary and my schedule is not normal, I don’t have the luxury of rest.”
If he does manage to eke out five minutes for himself, Goldstein delves into his new passion: Formula One. “John Elkann [chairman of Ferrari] is my biggest investor, which has naturally made me a fan of the Ferrari team. I love high-performance machines and I appreciate the precision and work that goes into F1.”
It’s 10am in San Francisco and Goldstein has been awake since 2am but his day never stops. “I have to make a lot of big, bold calls and I have to do it with very incomplete information,” he concludes. “There’s no playbook. We’re shaping regulation for the next six, seven decades, we’re shaping infrastructure, we’re shaping consumer experiences. As the founder, this is very personal for me, and I am all in.”