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Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, has reaffirmed his backing for Hermeus after his firm led the defense aviation startup’s $350 million Series C round, a deal that pushes the company to a $1 billion post-money valuation and strengthens its standing in the race to build high-speed military aircraft.
Hermeus said on Tuesday in a press release that the financing includes $200 million in equity led by Khosla Ventures and $150 million in debt, with the capital earmarked to speed development of its Quarterhorse testbed and Darkhorse drone.
After Hermeus announced the investment, Khosla took to X and quoted the company’s post, writing, “Exciting company with unique technology.”
Exciting company with unique technology https://t.co/XTMenOx7WD
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) April 7, 2026
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The public endorsement added to remarks he made in the company’s press release, where he said, “We’ve been believers in Hermeus from the start, and we couldn’t be happier to lead this Series C.”
He added that the company is on a “clear trajectory to solve a critical capability gap” by building, flying and iterating at a pace suited to the modern battlefield.
Hermeus said the new money will help expand manufacturing, including a new facility in El Segundo, California, while its Atlanta site shifts toward production. The company said existing investors in the round included Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, RTX Ventures, Bling Capital and In-Q-Tel, while new backers included Cox Enterprises and its Socium Ventures fund, along with Destiny Tech100, Georgia Tech Foundation, 137 Ventures and GSBackers.
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Founded in 2018, Hermeus says it is building aircraft capable of flying above Mach 5 and has pitched both defense and future commercial uses for the technology. Khosla Ventures has backed the company since its seed round in 2019, according to Hermeus.
In the broader high-speed aerospace field, Tracxn lists Boom Supersonic and Spike Aerospace among Hermeus’ top competitors, while other market trackers such as CB Insights also include Venus Aerospace in that competitive set.