Hypersonics startup Hermeus announced on April 7, 2026, that it has closed a $350 million Series C round.
This capital injection, which is structured as $200 million in equity and $150 million in debt, brings the total capital raised to $500 million and the company’s valuation to the $1 billion mark (what is known as a “unicorn” in venture capital parlance).
The new funding round has been led by prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, with the participation of Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, RTX Ventures, Bling Capital, and In-Q-Tel. Other investors, such as Cox Enterprises, Socium Ventures, Destiny Tech100, Georgia Tech Foundation, 137 Ventures and GSBackers have also joined the ranks of Hermeus shareholders.
In addition to the new capital raise, Hermeus is also moving its corporate headquarters from Atlanta, Georgia, to El Segundo, California, in the Greater Los Angeles area. The startup will keep its industrial activities at its current site in Atlanta, though.
According to AJ Piplica, Founder and CEO of Hermeus, the funds will strengthen the startup’s industrial development program, allowing it to build multiple aircraft at the same time and scale its manufacturing capabilities.
Hermeus is developing an unmanned military aircraft capable of flying at high-match speeds. In March 2026, the company tested its Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 aircraft at the White Sands Missile Range airspace, New Mexico.
This test involved the second iteration of its prototype. The first test took place in May 2025 with a smaller prototype with one third of the size and one quarter of the weight.
Quarterhorse Mk 2.1, which is roughly the size of a F-16 fighter jet, was powered by a conventional Pratt & Whitney F100 engine. However, Hermeus plans to fit future versions of its aircraft with a ramjet capable of delivering much higher speeds.
In line with Hermeus’ development philosophy of fast prototype iteration, engineers are already working on Quarterhorse Mk 2.2, which, according to Hermeus, will be the world’s fastest unmanned aircraft.