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Hermeus is a technology company.
Hermeus has raised $216.0M across 4 funding rounds.
Key people at Hermeus.
Hermeus has raised $216.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Hermeus engineers high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft through rapid design and build. Their platforms include reusable test vehicles like Quarterhorse and uncrewed aerial systems. At its core is the Chimera hybrid engine, which integrates turbine and ramjet functions for efficient hypersonic acceleration. This system aims to deliver affordable, routine access to advanced flight capabilities.
Hermeus was founded in 2018 by AJ Piplica, Zachary Shore, Ramin Nader, Tim Hampton, Skyler Shuford, Glenn Case, and Mike Smayda. The team's experience in aerospace and defense led to the insight for accelerated high-speed aviation development. They established an agile process to bypass traditional delays and costs, enabling swift creation of hypersonic flight systems.
The company primarily serves the Department of War and government organizations, supplying advanced aircraft for defense and national security missions. Hermeus' vision is to secure an asymmetric advantage for the United States and its allies through superior high-speed aerial capabilities. They commit to transforming national interest objectives by rapidly deploying hypersonic flight technologies.
Key people at Hermeus.
Hermeus has raised $216.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Hermeus's investors include Draper Associates, Founders Fund, Gaingels, K2 Global, Liquid 2 Ventures, Quantum Angels Venture Capital, Structure Capital, Valhalla Ventures, Stephen Cole, ACME Capital, ATX Venture Partners, Canaan Partners.
Hermeus is an American aerospace startup founded in 2018, specializing in hypersonic aircraft for both commercial and defense applications.[1][2][3] The company develops high-speed planes like the Quarterhorse (targeting Mach 5 speeds and 4,600-mile range), Darkhorse (uncrewed military aircraft), and Halcyon (hypersonic passenger airliner), powered by its Chimera engine—a turbine-based combined-cycle system that transitions from turbojet to ramjet for sustained hypersonic flight without rocket boosters.[1][2][3][4] Serving the U.S. Department of Defense, Air Force, and future commercial airlines, Hermeus solves critical problems in air travel speed (e.g., New York to London in 90 minutes) and national security by delivering unprecedented altitude, maneuverability, and rapid deployment capabilities.[1][3][4][5] With over 250 employees, facilities in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Jacksonville, and revenue of $5.6M, the company demonstrates strong growth through iterative prototyping and government contracts.[1][5][6]
Hermeus was founded in November 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia, by a team of experts from startups, leading airplane manufacturers, top defense contractors, and the U.S. military, driven by a vision to radically accelerate air travel via hypersonic technology.[1][3][5] The idea emerged from the need to operationalize hypersonic flight quickly and cost-effectively, combining hardware-rich iteration with modern computing and autonomy.[2][4] Early traction came swiftly: seed funding from Khosla Ventures in April 2019, a subscale engine prototype test demonstrating turbojet-ramjet operation in February 2020, an AFWERX STRATFI contract, and a $16M Series A round later that year.[3] Pivotal moments include the Chimera engine's full-scale test in November 2022, proving seamless mode transition, and rapid development of Quarterhorse prototypes (Mk 1 and Mk 2) at "The Factory" facility, achieving milestones in 21 months for $18M—far faster than traditional aerospace timelines.[3][4][6]
Hermeus rides the hypersonic revolution, fueled by escalating great-power competition and demand for asymmetric advantages in speed, altitude, and maneuverability over adversaries.[3][5] Timing is ideal amid U.S. DoD investments in high-Mach tech (e.g., AFWERX contracts) and Georgia's aerospace hub status—its top export and second-largest manufacturing sector, with giants like Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream.[3][6] Market forces like rising defense budgets, commercial travel recovery post-pandemic, and sustainability pushes favor air-breathing hypersonics over fuel-intensive rockets.[1][4] By partnering directly with the Air Force and iterating faster than legacy contractors, Hermeus influences the ecosystem, accelerating U.S. technological edge, enabling allies' superiority, and paving the way for affordable hypersonic passenger flights priced like business class.[5][6]
Hermeus is poised for breakthroughs with ongoing Quarterhorse flight tests, Chimera scaling, Darkhorse warfighter demos, and Halcyon commercial rollout targeting routine Mach 5 passenger flights in the next decade.[2][4][6] Trends like AI-driven autonomy, advanced manufacturing, and DoD hypersonic priorities will propel growth, potentially unlocking $100B+ markets in defense and aviation.[1][3] Its influence may evolve from nimble innovator to ecosystem leader, powering Delta-like carriers and U.S. air dominance—ultimately making hypersonic travel as routine as today's jets, fulfilling its mission to redefine speed in the skies.[2][5][6]
Hermeus has raised $216.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $40.0M Series B in July 2024.