Wisk Aero announces acquisition of software validation and verification company Verocel

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Wisk Aero, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company in Mountain View, Calif., announced it has acquired Verocel Inc., a software verification and validation (V&V) company. Verocel’s expertise in supporting the certification of high-integrity aerospace software and the qualification of V&V tools will play a role in Wisk’s ongoing effort to certify its Generation 6 autonomous, electric air taxi.

The Verocel team, Wisk says, has deep expertise in DO-178C and are members of industry standards committees for high-integrity software including RTCA/Special Committee, EUROCAE Working Group, and the FAA’s Overarching Properties Working Group. Additionally, the qualified Verocel toolset – VeroTrace – provides a baseline for software certification requirements definition, tracking, and FAA submittals. This specialty expertise creates a capability at Wisk that supports both the certification of the Generation 6 aircraft as well as future software developments at The Boeing Company, Wisk's parent company.

“High-integrity software development is critical for our mission to certify an autonomous, electric aircraft with V&V being a significant portion of the total software certification effort,” said Brian Yutko, Wisk CEO. “Verocel’s specialized and talented team will bring with them deep experience and rigor, helping to accelerate our autonomous certification project that is already well underway. We are thrilled to have this talented team join Wisk!”

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Verocel was founded in 1999 and has completed previous work with Boeing. In addition to software development and V&V services, Verocel also develops and produces the safety computers for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), an air navigation system that enhances GPS accuracy and integrity to enable aircraft to safely navigate all over the world. More than 50 specialized software engineers, based in Westford Mass., and Poznan, Poland, join Wisk through this acquisition.

“Wisk is a perfect alignment for Verocel, both in the long and short term,” said Jim Chelini, President of Verocel. “Not only is this a chance to directly apply our expertise to the certification of a groundbreaking technology, but this is also an incredible opportunity for Verocel talent to excel within Wisk and the broader Boeing ecosystem long term.”