Boeing taps Wisk Aero CEO to head commercial airplane product development
By Dan Catchpole
SEATTLE -Boeing-owned Wisk Aero announced Wednesday that its CEO Brian Yutko is leaving to take over product development for Boeing's commercial airplanes division.
In his new role, Yutko will still oversee Wisk, which is developing an autonomous air taxi, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' head of product strategy Mike Sinnett told employees in an internal memo shared with Reuters.
"The combination of projects under one umbrella gives us more collaboration opportunities that will benefit Boeing well into the future," Sinnett said in the memo.
In Wisk's news release announcing the moves, Yutko said joining Boeing will "connect the pioneering technologies and bold spirit of innovation we've cultivated at Wisk."
Prior to joining the San Francisco-based company in 2023, Yutko was a senior leader in BCA's research and development of future aircraft systems, such as autonomous air taxis.
Wisk currently is developing an electric, four-seat air taxi, dubbed the 6th Generation.
In March, Boeing CFO Brian West said at an investors conference that technology being pioneered by Wisk will be key to the future of autonomous flight and valuable to the rest of Boeing's business. "It's small, it's important, and we're staying with it."
Sebastien Vigneron is taking over as Wisk CEO. He previously was Wisk's senior vice president of engineering and programs.
(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
Nintendo Switch 2 release in San Francisco draws crowd to Union Square store
The Nintendo Switch 2 release at the San Francisco flagship store had fans lining up and traveling from far away on Wednesday. The flagship San Francisco store hosted a pre-celebration event for fans. One fan said they even traveled from New Jersey for the opportunity. "I'm a big Nintendo fan," a fan dressed as Luigi said. Fans got there early and were able to try the Mario Kart demo on the Switch 2, which officially goes on sale at 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 4. KPIX asked Denier about the hype surrounding the latest console. "It's a powerful 10x upgrade from the original that came out in 2017. I'm looking forward to playing 4K, 60 frames per second," Denier said. "That's a little bit nerdy, but that's something people like me really look for." Coincidentally, he means players like Trevor Strohl, who's a professional saxophone player. And when he gets on the sax, his interests collide. "We play all sorts of video game music, including a lot of Nintendo music," Strohl said. The Switch 2 is pricier than the first generation, at roughly $500 per unit. But from the looks of the line, it's well on its way to making another big splash for Nintendo and its users. "I'm going to buy it with Mario Kart, and I'm going to buy it with some controllers and accessories and stuff, maybe some of the accessories they got," Denier said. In the end, fans are there to have a common experience and share the love for a beloved gaming system. "We're just devoted fans," Denier said. "We love Nintendo."
Business Upturn
23 minutes ago
- Business Upturn
Garden Reach signs MoI with Germany's Carsten Rehder for construction of 4 multi-purpose vessels
By Aman Shukla Published on June 5, 2025, 09:42 IST Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) has announced the signing of multiple agreements aimed at enhancing its shipbuilding portfolio and expanding into the offshore segment. On June 4, 2025, GRSE signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) with Germany-based Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler und Reederei GmbH & Co. KG. The agreement covers the construction of four follow-on 7,500 DWT Multi-Purpose Vessels. These vessels will continue from the eight currently under construction at GRSE's Kolkata facility. The new vessels are expected to include hybrid propulsion and upgraded cybersecurity features. A firm contract is anticipated by August 31, 2025. Additionally, GRSE entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai-based Aries Marine. The MoU is focused on offshore platform and vessel design, aligning with GRSE's interest in entering the offshore construction space. This collaboration will explore offshore project opportunities where Aries will provide design expertise and GRSE will handle construction. On the same day, GRSE also signed an MoU with a global engine manufacturer. Further details of this agreement were not disclosed. These agreements mark GRSE's continued efforts to diversify its offerings and explore international collaborations. Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Private Japanese lunar lander heads toward a touchdown in the moon's far north
A private lunar lander from Japan is closing in on the moon, aiming for a touchdown in the unexplored far north with a mini rover. The moon landing attempt by Tokyo-based company ispace on Friday Japan time is the latest entry in the rapidly expanding commercial lunar rush. The encore comes two years after the company's first moonshot ended in a crash landing, giving rise to the name Resilience for its successor lander. Resilience holds a rover with a shovel to gather lunar dirt as well as a Swedish artist's toy-size red house that will be lowered onto the moon's dusty surface. Long the province of governments, the moon became a target of private outfits in 2019, with more flops than wins along the way. Launched in January from Florida on a long, roundabout journey, Resilience entered lunar orbit last month. It shared a SpaceX ride with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which reached the moon faster and became the first private entity to successfully land there in March. Another U.S. company, Intuitive Machines, arrived at the moon a few days after Firefly. But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the moon's south pole and was declared dead within hours. Resilience is targeting the top of the moon, a less forbidding place than the shadowy bottom. The ispace team chose a flat area with few boulders in Mare Frigoris or Sea of Cold, a long and narrow region full of craters and ancient lava flows that stretches across the near side's northern tier. Once settled with power and communication flowing, the 7.5-foot (2.3-meter) Resilience will lower the piggybacking rover onto the lunar surface. Made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic with four wheels, ispace's European-built rover — named Tenacious — sports a high-definition camera to scout out the area and a shovel to scoop up some lunar dirt for NASA. The rover, weighing just 11 pounds (5 kilograms), will stick close to the lander, going in circles at a speed of less than one inch (a couple centimeters) per second. Besides science and tech experiments, there's an artistic touch. The rover holds a tiny, Swedish-style red cottage with white trim and a green door, dubbed the Moonhouse by creator Mikael Genberg, for placement on the lunar surface. Takeshi Hakamada, CEO and founder of ispace, considers the latest moonshot 'merely a steppingstone,' with its next, much bigger lander launching by 2027 with NASA involvement, and even more to follow. 'We're not trying to corner the market. We're trying to build the market,' Jeremy Fix, chief engineer for ispace's U.S. subsidiary, said at a conference last month. 'It's a huge market, a huge potential." Fix noted that ispace, like other businesses, does not have 'infinite funds' and cannot afford repeated failures. While not divulging the cost of the current mission, company officials said it's less than the first one which exceeded $100 million. Two other U.S. companies are aiming for moon landings by year's end: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology. Astrobotic's first lunar lander missed the moon altogether in 2024 and came crashing back through Earth's atmosphere. For decades, governments competed to get to the moon. Only five countries have pulled off successful robotic lunar landings: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan. Of those, only the U.S. has landed people on the moon: 12 NASA astronauts from 1969 through 1972. NASA expects to send four astronauts around the moon next year. That would be followed a year or more later by the first lunar landing by a crew in more than a half-century, with SpaceX's Starship providing the lift from lunar orbit all the way down to the surface. China also has moon landing plans for its own astronauts by 2030. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
