Hermeus $350M Raise
Hermeus raised $350 million to develop an uncrewed hypersonic aircraft aimed at U.S. Department of Defense applications, a round that granted the company unicorn status. The funding is explicitly targeted at accelerating development of very high‑speed unmanned platforms for defence customers (x.com).
Hermeus just raised $350 million to build aircraft that fly so fast the company says today’s versions will be aimed first at military missions, not passengers. The round included $200 million in equity and $150 million in debt, and it pushed the company to a $1 billion valuation on April 7, 2026. (hermeus.com) This is not a bet on a normal drone. Hermeus says it is building reusable uncrewed aircraft for defense and national security missions that can operate at “high-Mach” speeds, meaning multiple times the speed of sound. (hermeus.com) The aircraft at the center of that pitch is called Darkhorse. Hermeus describes Darkhorse as a reusable uncrewed aerial system for defense missions, with the long-term goal of hypersonic flight, which starts at Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. (hermeus.com) Hermeus did not start with Darkhorse. It built a stepping-stone program called Quarterhorse, and the newest Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 made its maiden flight in February 2026 at Spaceport America in New Mexico. (hermeus.com) Quarterhorse is roughly the size of a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter, but it is flown remotely from the ground instead of carrying a pilot. Hermeus says the Mk 2.1 uses a Pratt & Whitney F100 engine while the company tests the aircraft shape, controls, and operations before moving to faster systems. (spaceportamerica.com) The hard part is not only building a fast airframe. It is building an engine that works like a car with two gearboxes, using one mode for lower speeds and another mode after the aircraft is moving fast enough that normal jet hardware stops being efficient. (hermeus.com) Hermeus calls that engine Chimera. The company says Chimera runs like a conventional turbine at lower speed, then routes air around the turbine so a ramjet can take over at higher speed. (hermeus.com) That engine plan is why investors are writing checks this large. Hermeus said the new money will accelerate delivery of high-Mach unmanned aircraft for national security missions, and TechCrunch reported the company is pitching Darkhorse as the “fastest unmanned aircraft.” (hermeus.com) (techcrunch.com) The investor list shows who this is for. Khosla Ventures led the round, and existing backers included RTX Ventures and In-Q-Tel, the investment arm associated with the United States intelligence community, alongside Founders Fund and Canaan Partners. (hermeus.com) Hermeus is also moving closer to the biggest defense buyers. The company said this week it is relocating its headquarters from the Atlanta area to El Segundo, California, a city that has become a dense cluster for aerospace and defense startups near major contractors and Pentagon customers. (ajc.com) (latimes.com) A few years ago, Hermeus was best known for talking about a hypersonic passenger plane called Halcyon. In 2026, the company’s money, prototypes, and public message are centered on uncrewed military aircraft, where governments will pay for speed long before airlines do. (techcrunch.com) (hermeus.com)
