# Jia Xu

> Jia Xu is CEO of SkyGrid, the Austin, Texas company building high-assurance airspace integration software for autonomous and unmanned flight. With a PhD from Stanford, dual master's degrees from Imperial College London and the London School of Economics, and career stints at the RAND Corporation, Airbus, General Atomics, and Honeywell Aerospace, Xu brings rare cross-disciplinary depth to one of aviation's hardest problems: teaching machines to share the sky. Under his leadership since August 2023, SkyGrid pivoted from generic airspace software to become a specialized third-party services provider for advanced air mobility - and was acquired by Wisk Aero (a Boeing subsidiary) in June 2025.

- **Role:** CEO at SkyGrid (a Wisk/Boeing Company)
- **Organizations:** SkyGrid, Wisk Aero, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, Airbus, RAND Corporation, General Atomics, Stanford University, World Economic Forum
- **Nationality:** United States
- **Education:** PhD, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, M.S., Aeronautics, Imperial College London, M.S., International Relations, London School of Economics
- **Known for:** Appointed CEO of SkyGrid in August 2023, succeeding founding CEO Amir Husain, Led SkyGrid's strategic pivot to high-assurance third-party services for Advanced Air Mobility, Guided SkyGrid's integration into Wisk Aero (Boeing subsidiary) in June 2025

## Career timeline

- **early career** — UAS design engineer at General Atomics
- **early-mid career** — Adjunct lecturer in aerodynamics at Stanford University
- **mid career** — Leadership roles at RAND Corporation, driving advanced technology portfolio in AI/ML, UAS, and autonomy
- **mid career** — Chief Architect for UAM Systems at Airbus, building operational architectures and data-driven business cases for urban air mobility
- **2020** — Joined Honeywell Aerospace as CTO for Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Air Mobility
- **2023-08** — Appointed CEO of SkyGrid, succeeding founder Amir Husain; Boeing increased its investment to support Xu's product strategy
- **2025-06** — Led SkyGrid's acquisition by Wisk Aero, becoming a Wisk subsidiary to accelerate autonomous aviation integration

## Achievements

- Appointed CEO of SkyGrid in August 2023, succeeding founding CEO Amir Husain
- Led SkyGrid's strategic pivot to high-assurance third-party services for Advanced Air Mobility
- Guided SkyGrid's integration into Wisk Aero (Boeing subsidiary) in June 2025
- World Economic Forum Agenda Contributor on autonomous aviation
- Pioneered concept of operations (ConOps) publication for AAM third-party services
- Holds three graduate degrees across three elite institutions (Stanford, Imperial, LSE)
- Former adjunct aerodynamics lecturer at Stanford University
- Led UAS and UAM technology strategy at Honeywell Aerospace (2020-2023)
- Developed UAM vehicle and network operational architectures as Chief Architect at Airbus

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — SkyGrid became a subsidiary of Wisk Aero (a Boeing company), with Xu continuing as CEO to accelerate autonomy and airspace integration capabilities
- **2024-11** — Jia Xu presented at Dubai Airshow 2025 discussing SkyGrid's role in autonomous operations and AAM infrastructure
- **2024** — Published podcast interview on The Vertical Space (#99) discussing opening the sky for autonomous flight
- **2023-08** — Appointed as CEO of SkyGrid, replacing founder Amir Husain; Boeing increased investment to support new product strategy

## Links

- Website: https://skygrid.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jiaxuaerospace
- Twitter/X: http://twitter.com/skygrid
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-PSrmSx4M4
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/skygrid

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jia-xu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-30