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Robot maker · early

Hermeus

Defense marketsecurityCurated record
hermeus.com

Builds fully autonomous uncrewed high-speed aircraft: Quarterhorse Mk 1 flew May 2025, Mk 2.1 first flight March 2026 and supersonic by May 2026; Darkhorse (Mk 3) is a mass-producible uncrewed hypersonic military jet. DIU contract ceiling raised to $219M ($159M extension, May 2026) for 2026-27 payload-carriage flight tests. All contracts are test/demonstration R&D, hence early tier; borderline aviation-vs-robotics flagged, admitted as autonomous UAS.

HeadquartersAtlanta, US
Founded2018
Defense funding$710M
Team1000+
Deployments0
Open roles109
01

Company overview

Identity and operating footprint

Company typeRobot maker
Market segmentDefense
StageSeries B
FoundersAJ Piplica (CEO), Glenn Case (CTO), Mike Smayda, Skyler Shuford
Regions servedNorth America
Countries deployedNot listed
Service footprintNot listed
Last reviewed2026-07-05
MX

Robot models

Specifications remain vendor-claimed

Machinesecurity

Darkhorse

  • Uncrewed hypersonic multi-mission military aircraft intended for mass production (Quarterhorse Mk 3 lineage)

    vendor-stated product roadmap

    Claim source
Machinesecurity

Quarterhorse

  • Uncrewed autonomous high-speed test aircraft; Mk 2.1 first flight 2 March 2026, supersonic on its third flight in May 2026

    press-reported flight-test progress

    Claim source
CA

Funding history

Publicly announced rounds

2026-04-14$201M

Venture (Form D)

Investors undisclosed

Round source
Investors on recordSam AltmanFounders FundIn-Q-TelKhosla VenturesCanaan PartnersRTX Ventures
HR

Hiring signal

Public job board · 2026-07-13

Open roles109

Hiring is an operating signal, not deployment evidence. Roles are refreshed from the company’s public careers system.

Avionics Electrical EngineerAvionics Hardware · Atlanta, GAAvionics Electrical EngineerAvionics Hardware · Los Angeles, CAAvionics Shop ManagerAvionics Hardware · Los Angeles, CALead Avionics EngineerAvionics Hardware · Los Angeles, CARF Systems EngineerAvionics Hardware · Atlanta, GASenior Avionics Electrical EngineerAvionics Hardware · Los Angeles, CASenior Electrical Engineer - Power ElectronicsAvionics Hardware · Los Angeles, CASenior RF Systems EngineerAvionics Hardware · Los Angeles, CA
TL

Company timeline

Milestones and announcements

2026-05-15DIU adds $159M, raising contract ceiling to $219M for Mach-3 payload-release flight testing in 2026-27Breaking Defense
2025-05-27First flight of Quarterhorse high-speed uncrewed aircraftDefense News
SC

Source ledger

8 unique public sources

01
SEC Form D — Hermeus CorpSEC EDGAR · retrieved 2026-07-05
02
Hermeus Reaches $1 Billion Valuation with $350 Million Raise to Build Today's Fastest Aircraft for the American WarfighterHermeus · retrieved 2026-07-05
03
SEC Form D: $39,955,107 sold of $39,955,107 offeringSEC EDGAR · retrieved 2026-07-05
04
Hypersonic aircraft start-up Hermeus raises $100 million to finish prototype, build out fleetCNBC · retrieved 2026-07-05
05
SEC Form D: $19,227,260 sold of $19,227,260 offeringSEC EDGAR · retrieved 2026-07-05
06
Quarterhorse — HermeusHermeus · retrieved 2026-07-05
07
DIU ups Hermeus contract for high-speed droneBreaking Defense · retrieved 2026-07-05
08
Hermeus notches first flight of Quarterhorse high-speed aircraftDefense News · retrieved 2026-07-05