Supersonic jet developer raises funding after Air Force investment

Hermeus, an Atlanta-based startup supersonic jet developer, announced it raised $16 million in funding.

The funding round comes after Hermeus got a new $1.5 million contract two months ago to work toward hypersonic travel for the Department of Defense, including assessing how it could modify its proposed Mach 5 aircraft for the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate fleet.

The Hermeus contract is part of a broader effort to begin prototyping a potential supersonic Air Force One, according to Military.com.

Hermeus said its new round of funding is led by venture capital firm Canaan Partners, with support from original backers Khosla Ventures, as well as Bling Capital and Revolutions Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.

The startup said it plans to use the funding to hire more employees and work toward developing and ground-testing an engine for its first Mach 5 aircraft. Hermeus said it designed and built a Mach 5 engine prototype in nine months and tested it in February 2020.

The company plans to use an Atlanta test facility for manufacturing and testing.

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