Hypersonic weapons startup Castelion is elevating a $350 million Collection B led by Lightspeed Enterprise Companions and Altimeter Capital, in line with sources and paperwork seen by TechCrunch.
The spherical, which values the corporate within the billions, is anticipated to shut in a matter of weeks. A time period sheet has been signed. The brand new spherical comes on the heels of $100 million in Collection A funding that closed in January. That spherical was composed of about $70 million in fairness and $30 million of debt. Lightspeed additionally led that spherical.
Castelion declined to remark.
It’s notoriously tough for nontraditional gamers to interrupt into the sizable authorities protection market, however Castelion has made notable strides since it emerged from stealth in late 2023. The corporate, which was based by former SpaceX executives, needs to remodel the manufacturing of hypersonic missile methods, a important nationwide safety expertise.
Regardless of the U.S. Division of Protection’s huge finances, army leaders are sounding the alarm on China’s capacity to quickly develop and area hypersonics. These weapons journey above Mach 5 — and China’s capabilities are beginning to outpace the US.
Castelion is proposing an answer. The enterprise takes the same method to SpaceX: construct rapidly, check often, and vertically combine to drive down prices. It has already received grants and awards from a set of DoD places of work, together with the Air Drive Analysis Laboratory and the Naval Air Methods Command. The corporate examined its hypersonic automobile for the primary time within the Mojave Desert in March because it appears to be like to show to the federal government that it could possibly area low-cost hypersonic missiles at scale.
Castelion appeared within the U.S. Military’s fiscal yr 2026 budget request revealed in June. Within the finances, the army department has requested $25 million beneath an initiative known as Undertaking HX3 to help the event and testing of an “inexpensive, mass-produced hypersonic weapon” known as Blackbeard Floor Launch (GL). Because the doc explains, Blackbeard GL could have round 80% of the aptitude of a long-range hypersonic weapon variant at the moment being developed by aerospace primes. However via the contract, the Military is saying it’s prepared to commerce just a little little bit of velocity and vary for a lower-cost product.
The forthcoming contract, which is actually a finished deal as soon as President Trump indicators the finances into legislation, has two phases: The primary will see Castelion ship a “prototype proof-of-concept” that it’ll exhibit in early 2026. If that’s profitable, the second section will embody the supply of 10 prototype missiles in 2027 for added testing utilizing a normal launcher platform known as Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Blackbeard can also be being designed to be appropriate with a brand new launcher system that can have autonomous capabilities.
All of Castelion’s earlier wins with the DoD are a pittance in comparison with the chances afforded by the profitable hypersonic-weapons market. If the Military area testing goes nicely, Castelion might ink a bigger contract and start delivering Blackbeard missiles in early 2028.
Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman could wish to watch their backs.