Hypersonica has raised €100 million in Series B funding to accelerate development of sovereign hypersonic deep-strike systems for Europe and allied countries. The financing was co-led by Lightspeed and General Catalyst, with continued participation from existing investors including Plural, 201 Ventures, and Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, known as SPRIND.
The British-German defense technology company is developing long-range precision strike systems designed around hypersonic speed and maneuverability.
Hypersonica plans to use the new capital to advance development of its deep-strike systems, increase the frequency of testing, and expand engineering, manufacturing, and industrial operations across Europe.
The company said the investment is expected to support the creation of hundreds of highly skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs across the UK and Germany.
Hypersonica is positioning its technology as part of a broader European effort to develop sovereign long-range strike capabilities.
The UK’s Defence Investment Plan has allocated an initial £770 million over four years to the UK-German Deep Precision Strike program under the Trinity House Agreement. A NATO-led multinational initiative announced in July also envisions £37 billion of investment in deep precision strike capabilities over the next decade.
Since its Series A financing, Hypersonica has reached a major technical milestone with its HS-1 prototype.
In February, the company successfully tested the system at speeds exceeding Mach 6 over a range of more than 300 kilometers.
Hypersonica said the test made it the first privately funded European defense company to achieve that milestone.
The company also said its development model has reduced costs by more than 80% compared with conventional approaches to comparable systems.
Following the HS-1 test, Hypersonica expanded its engineering organization, increased engagement with European governments, and strengthened partnerships across the regional defense industrial base.
The company aims to develop operational hypersonic deep-strike systems by 2029 while building a broader European technology and manufacturing ecosystem around the program.
Hypersonica said its technology is developed, owned, and controlled in Europe and is intended to provide sovereign, ITAR-free capability for European allies.
KEY QUOTES:
“The debate about whether Europe needs hypersonic deep-strike capability is over. Governments have recognised the requirement and begun funding programmes. The challenge now is delivery. Europe needs credible hypersonic long-range capability, and more value for every pound and euro it spends. We have shown that next-generation hypersonic systems can be developed in Europe faster and more affordably than conventional wisdom suggests. And we’re proud to be backed by investors who share our conviction that Europe should be able to develop and produce advanced strategic capabilities itself. Series B marks our transition from demonstration to delivery. This funding will accelerate development, increase testing cadence, support European reindustrialisation and help ensure Europe has access to sovereign capability developed and produced in Europe.”
Dr. Philipp Kerth, CEO And Co-Founder Of Hypersonica, And Dr. Marc Ewenz, CTO And Co-Founder Of Hypersonica
“Hypersonica is redefining how advanced defence capability gets built. The team pairs deep technical expertise with exceptional speed of execution, and the strength of our support reflects our confidence in both the technology and their ability to deliver.”
Alexander Schmitt, Partner At Lightspeed
“Strategic autonomy begins with the ability to build critical technologies at speed, at scale and at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. That is exactly what Philipp, Marc, and the Hypersonica team are doing. They combine the ambition to tackle one of Europe’s most critical capability gaps with the engineering excellence to actually solve it. As Europe invests in its security and resilience, it will be companies like Hypersonica that play a defining role in translating ambition into real capability.”
Jeannette Zu Fürstenberg, President And Managing Director At General Catalyst
