German-British start-up Hypersonica announced on November 2, 2026 a €100 million Series B to develop a hypersonic missile designed in Europe. The round is co-led by US funds Lightspeed and General Catalyst. Founded in late 2023, the Munich-based company is targeting series production from 2029, an ambitious timetable for a technology that only a handful of states have mastered.
A round driven by American funds
Lightspeed and General Catalyst are leading the deal, joined by two existing shareholders: Britain’s Plural and Spain’s 201 Ventures, according to Börsen-Zeitung. According to Tech Funding News, Hypersonica has now raised around €126 million since it was founded, counting a €2.5 million seed round led by General Catalyst and a €23.3 million Series A led by Plural, in which Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, SPRIND, had taken part.
The valuation has not been disclosed by the company. Tech Funding News reports that the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources, puts it at around €700 million; this figure has not been confirmed by Hypersonica.
The presence of American capital at the head of the table is not an exception. Again according to Tech Funding News, which cites Dealroom, US investors account for 47% of the funding for European defense start-ups, a sector expected to reach a record $10.5 billion in 2026, 40% of it for Munich.
A first flight at Mach 6, a promise of lower costs
The round comes nine months after a notable test. In February 2026, a prototype called HS-1 took off from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway. It exceeded Mach 6, or more than 7,000 km/h depending on air temperature, and flew more than 300 kilometers, Börsen-Zeitung reports; the website Defence Industry Europe confirms the speed and distance, without naming the test site. According to Tech Funding News, the company says it went from concept to a flight-ready vehicle in nine months.
Above all, Hypersonica puts forward an economic argument: its development approach would cut costs by more than 80% compared with conventional approaches. This figure is a claim by the company, with no independent assessment published in the sources consulted. Its founders present this Series B as the move from demonstration to delivery.
What remains to be proven
The first flight does not settle the hardest questions. According to Börsen-Zeitung, the company still has to extend the range of its vehicle and make it maneuverable; it is this maneuverability that the company identifies as its main current technical challenge. Series production is targeted from 2029.
The funds will be used to increase the number of tests and to build the program’s technological and industrial capabilities, according to Defence Industry Europe. The company is announcing the creation of “hundreds” of engineering and production jobs in the United Kingdom and Germany, without a precise figure. Its headquarters are in Munich, with a subsidiary in London.
The competition is better funded. Tech Funding News cites the American company Castelion, which claims more than $500 million in military contracts in the United States, and Hermeus, valued at $1 billion in April.
A response to Europe’s lag
The project fits into a specific political context. Russia, China and the United States already have hypersonic weapons, Börsen-Zeitung points out. In Europe, the Trinity House agreement signed in 2024 between London and Berlin provides for a joint precision weapon with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers. Britain’s defense investment plan earmarks £770 million for it over four years, with deliveries expected in the 2030s, according to Tech Funding News. By way of comparison, the Bundeswehr’s Taurus cruise missile, its longest-range weapon, reaches up to 500 kilometers.
The two founders, physicist Philipp Kerth, the chief executive, and aerospace engineer Marc Ewenz, the chief technology officer, met during their doctoral research on hypersonics at Oxford. They created the company in December 2023, with early support from TUM Venture Labs, according to Tech Funding News. For Philipp Kerth, quoted by Börsen-Zeitung, governments have become aware of the need and have started funding programs.
For the ecosystem, the signal is twofold: defense now attracts tickets of a hundred million euros as early as Series B, but these amounts remain modest compared with arms budgets and with American rivals already under contract. What happens next will depend less on the fundraise than on government orders, which have yet to come.
Frequently asked questions
Who is funding Hypersonica?
The €100 million Series B is co-led by Lightspeed and General Catalyst, two American funds, with participation from Plural and 201 Ventures. The Series A had also involved the German public agency SPRIND.
Is Hypersonica’s missile operational?
No. A prototype, the HS-1, flew in February from Norway at more than Mach 6 over more than 300 kilometers. The range still needs to be increased and maneuverability added; series production is targeted from 2029.
How much is Hypersonica worth?
The company has not said. The Financial Times, cited by Tech Funding News, puts forward a figure of around €700 million based on anonymous sources, a number to be treated with caution.
Sources
- Deutsch-britisches Hyperschallraketen-Startup sammelt 100 Mill. Euro ein — Börsen-Zeitung, 2026-11-02
- Hypersonica raises €100M from Lightspeed and General Catalyst to build Europe's hypersonic missiles — Tech Funding News, 2026-11-02
- Hypersonica raises €100 million to accelerate development of European hypersonic deep-strike systems — Defence Industry Europe, 2026-11-02