Startup · United States
Hermeus
HQ AtlantaFounded 2018201-500 employees
Hermeus is an aerospace company dedicated to building the world’s fastest aircraft, specializing in the rapid design, development, and testing of high-Mach and hypersonic vehicles. Their mission is to deliver advanced, cost-effective, and quickly deployable high-speed aircraft for the American warfighter, ensuring the United States and its allies maintain a technological edge in defense. Hermeus works closely with the Department of Defense and leverages innovative hybrid engine technology—combining turbine and ramjet capabilities—to enable their aircraft to take off, break the sound barrier, and accelerate to hypersonic speeds. Their product lineup includes the Chimera engine, the Quarterhorse test vehicle, and the Darkhorse hypersonic platform, all aimed at making routine and affordable testing in previously inaccessible flight environments possible.
- Sep 15, 2026NewsBreaking DefenseEXCLUSIVE: Pratt licenses Hermeus to build F100 fighter jet engine
- Sep 9, 2026NewsAxiosExclusive: Hermeus unveils Ramjet-X, a "high-Mach" aircraft
- Sep 3, 2026NewsBreaking DefenseHermeus picks Anduril autonomy for Quarterhorse drone
- May 28, 2026NewsBreaking DefenseDIU ups Hermeus contract for high-speed drone
- Dec 11, 2025NewsPayloadExclusive: Fortastra Lands $8M Seed to Develop Orbital Defense Sats
Funding8 rounds · $356M
- Equity raised
- $356M
- Debt, secondaries & grants
- $210M
- Latest
- $150MDebt · Apr 7, 2026
- Last valuation
- $1.00BPost-money · Series C · Apr 7, 2026
| Announced | Stage | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Other investors | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Debt | $150M | — | — | Hercules Capital | Confirmed |
| Apr 7, 2026 | Series C | $200M | $1.00B | Khosla Ventures | 137 Ventures, Bling Capital, Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, Georgia Tech Foundation, In-Q-Tel, RTX Ventures | Confirmed |
| Aug 22, 2024 | Series B | $40.0M | — | — | — | Confirmed |
| Mar 10, 2022 | Series B | $100M | — | — | Bling Capital, Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, In-Q-Tel, Khosla Ventures | Reported |
| Aug 5, 2021 | Grant | $60.0M | — | U.S. Air Force | — | Confirmed |
| Oct 29, 2020 | Series A | $16.0M | — | Canaan Partners | Bling Capital, Khosla Ventures | Reported |
| May 13, 2019 | Seed | Undisclosed | — | Khosla Ventures | — | Reported |
| 2025 | Series B | Undisclosed | — | — | — | Speculative |
- $150MApr 7, 2026
- Series CLed by Khosla VenturesWith 137 Ventures, Bling Capital, Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, Georgia Tech Foundation, In-Q-Tel, RTX VenturesValuation $1.00BConfirmed$200MApr 7, 2026
- Series BConfirmed$40.0MAug 22, 2024
- Series B$100MMar 10, 2022
- $60.0MAug 5, 2021
- $16.0MOct 29, 2020
- SeedLed by Khosla VenturesUndisclosedMay 13, 2019
- Series BSpeculativeUndisclosed2025
Raised counts equity rounds; debt, secondary sales and grants are totaled separately. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the announcement month's average rate. A ~ marks an estimated or converted amount.
Systems10
Newest unveiled first. Open a system for its milestone timeline, components and sources.
Capabilities1
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerodynamics and control | Developer | — | — | Quarterhorse development and flight-test evidence toward hypersonic aircraft; not a claim that this flight achieved hypersonic speed. | Reported |
- DeveloperQuarterhorse development and flight-test evidence toward hypersonic aircraft; not a claim that this flight achieved hypersonic speed.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
People7 current · 1 former
- AJ Piplica
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Glenn Case · LinkedIn ↗
Founder and Chief Technologist
- Michael Smayda · LinkedIn ↗
Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder
- AJ Piplica
Executive Chairman
- Sameer Rao · LinkedIn ↗
Chief Financial Officer
- Steve Furger · LinkedIn ↗
CTO
- Zachary Shore · LinkedIn ↗
President
Sources23
Show all 23 sources and supporting evidence
Profile5
- 1OtherHermeus - Wikipedia
Wikipedia · Supports Organization · founded year
“The company was founded in 2018”
- 2
PitchBook · Supports Organization · employee range
“employee_range: 201-500 (profile: 275)”
- 3
Black Flag · Supports Organization
“Designs, builds, and tests high-speed uncrewed aircraft for national defense and security applications, specializing in hypersonic technology.”
- 4CompanyHermeus | Fast Planes, Fast.
Hermeus · Supports Organization · name
“Hermeus | Fast Planes, Fast.”
- 5
LinkedIn · Supports Organization · employee range
“employee_range: 201-500 (profile: 201-500 employees)”
Systems2
- 6
Hermeus · Supports System
“## MK 3 The first aircraft powered by the Chimera II engine, Mk 3 will demonstrate in-flight turbine-to-ramjet mode transition to become the fastest runway-launched airplane in history.”
- 7
Hermeus · Supports Organization technology, System
“Data from the campaign has validated design and performance models, including aerodynamics, stability and control.”
Funding14
- 8Regulatory filingForm D - Hermeus Corp (2026)
U.S. SEC EDGAR · Apr 14, 2026 · Supports Funding round · amount
“<totalAmountSold>200589992</totalAmountSold>”
- 9
Hermeus / PR Newswire · Apr 7, 2026 · Supports Funding round · amount, Funding round · investors, Funding round · post money valuation usd
“This financing, comprising $200 million in equity and $150 million in debt”
- 10
TechCrunch · Apr 7, 2026 · Supports Funding round
“The remaining $150 million comes in the form of debt”
- 11Regulatory filingForm D - Hermeus Corp (Series B, first sale 2022-03-04)
U.S. SEC EDGAR · Aug 27, 2024 · Supports Funding round · amount
“<totalAmountSold>119589879</totalAmountSold>”
- 12Regulatory filingForm D/A - Hermeus Corp (amends 2020 filing)
U.S. SEC EDGAR · Aug 23, 2024 · Supports Funding round · amount
“<totalAmountSold>19227260</totalAmountSold>”
- 13Regulatory filingForm D - Hermeus Corp (2024, first sale 2024-06-21)
U.S. SEC EDGAR · Aug 22, 2024 · Supports Funding round · amount
“<totalAmountSold>39955107</totalAmountSold>”
- 14
CNBC · Mar 10, 2022 · Supports Funding round · amount
“Hypersonic aircraft startup Hermeus on Thursday announced a $100 million round of funding”
- 15
Hermeus (via GlobalSecurity.org) · Aug 5, 2021 · Supports Funding round · amount
“announced today the signing of a $60 million U.S. Air Force partnership for flight testing its first aircraft, Quarterhorse”
- 16Regulatory filingForm D - Hermeus Corp (2020)
U.S. SEC EDGAR · Nov 12, 2020 · Supports Funding round · amount
“<totalAmountSold>14999986</totalAmountSold>”
- 17
TechCrunch · Oct 29, 2020 · Supports Funding round · amount
“has raised a $16 million Series A round, led by Canaan Partners”
- 18
GeekWire · May 13, 2019 · Supports Funding round
“The financing round was led by Khosla Ventures, with additional participation from private investors.”
- 19
InsideDefense · Supports Funding round
“The Air Force and a group of venture capital firms have struck a $60 million contract with Georgia-based aerospace start-up Hermeus Corporation”
- 20
Hermeus (via Airframer) · Supports Funding round
“Hermeus is excited to announce a $100 million Series B funding round led by Sam Altman.”
- 21
People2
- 22
PR Newswire via StreetInsider (Hermeus) · May 11, 2026 · Supports Role
“today announced that Zach Shore has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, 2026. AJ Piplica, the company's founding CEO, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman.”
- 23
Crunchbase · Supports Organization · employee range, Role
“employee_range: 201-500 (profile: 251-500)”
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.