Some of the biggest venture capital investors in the world are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into something new: hypersonic aircraft.
What’s happening:
- Hypersonic aircraft startup Hermeus has successfully raised a $350M USD Series C financing round
Why it matters:
- The new Series C funding round was led by some of the largest venture capital funds in Silicon Valley including Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund
Going deeper:
- Hermeus has developed multiple remotely piloted hypersonic aircraft prototypes that are purpose built to be able to reach speeds faster than Mach 5 and perform long range intelligence and strike missions at altitudes of nearly 90,000 feet
- Raytheon’s (NYSE: RTX) venture capital arm Raytheon Ventures also participated in Hermeus’ Series C financing round
The intrigue:
- OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman was notably one of the lead investors in Hermeus’ previous Series B financing round
