War Unicorn Hermeus Raises $350 Million For Unmanned Supersonic Fighter Jets

Atlanta-based aerospace startup Hermeus Corp. has raised $350 million in a funding round that values the company at over $1 billion.

The funds will be used to develop two additional supersonic jets, known as "Quarterhorse," and to enhance manufacturing capabilities for an uncrewed aircraft intended to exceed Mach 3. Hermeus is also advancing a hypersonic uncrewed jet called "Darkhorse." The funding round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Founders Fund, Canaan Partners, RTX Ventures, and In-Q-Tel.

To date, Hermeus has raised more than $500 million. The company aims to provide fighter-jet-level payload capacity through a cost-effective, unmanned platform for defense applications.

Khosla emphasized the urgency for the US to improve its hypersonic capabilities, noting that it lags behind Russia and China, which have already deployed hypersonic weapons.