FAA deal & stake
The FAA deal and the reported stake
The FAA picked ASI in June 2026. Four months later it was reported to be negotiating to own part of it. This is the sequence, and what is and is not settled.
Sequence
| Date | Topic | What happened | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-24 | FAA contract | FAA issues its challenge-based solicitation for flow management software; concept papers due Oct. 10. | citizenanalyst.ai |
| 2026-06-22 | FAA contract | Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announce the FAA contract with ASI for FMDS and SMART; ASI puts the value at $875 million over 12 years. Twelve companies bid. | transportation.gov · nextgov.com |
| 2026-10-15 | FAA stake | Politico reports the FAA has a term sheet for an equity stake in ASI and is negotiating a warrant. Neither side comments. | flyingmag.com · avweb.com · aerotime.aero |
| 2026-10-20 | Funding | ASI announces a $325 million Series C led by Spark Capital at a $3 billion valuation. | wilmerhale.com · bloomberg.com |
Customer, overseer, possible investor
The FAA buys ASI’s software and is responsible for the safety of the airspace it runs in. On October 15, 2026 Politico reported, citing an internal FAA document, that the agency also holds a nonbinding term sheet for an equity stake in ASI and is negotiating a warrant to buy shares at a set price. The term sheet is reported to expire at the end of 2026. The FAA declined to comment and ASI did not respond.
Nothing has been signed. If it were, the FAA would be customer, safety overseer and shareholder of the same company. BMRL could not read the Politico report directly and relies on four trade outlets’ accounts of it.
A similar arrangement exists elsewhere: the Defense Department took a $1 billion stake in an L3Harris business in 2026. BMRL’s L3Harris project covers it.
Source: FLYING; AVweb; AeroTime; Travel Radar.