What does Hermeus make?

Hermeus has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Quarterhorse (Hermeus builds physical robots).

Who is the CEO of Hermeus?

AJ Piplica is the ceo of Hermeus, per the DEPLOY registry.

Where is Hermeus headquartered?

Hermeus is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA.

How much funding has Hermeus raised?

Hermeus has raised approximately $350M in disclosed funding on record in the DEPLOY registry.

Where does Hermeus operate robots?

Hermeus is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.

Hermeus has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.

Hermeus: drone company

Overview

Defense aviation startup building unmanned hypersonic aircraft (Mach 5+). Founded 2018 by AJ Piplica, Zach Shore, and Glenn Case. Quarterhorse Mk 1 flew at Edwards AFB, Mk 2 in flight testing. $350M Series C at $1B valuation (April 2026), led by Khosla Ventures. DIU contract $219M total ceiling. FAA special airworthiness certificate granted.

Verified record

Verified deployments: None on file
Active incidents: None on file

Key facts

Fundingsee investors →

$350M (Apr 2026: $200M equity led by Khosla Ventures + $150M debt)

Valuationsee valuations ranking →

$1B+ (Apr 2026)

Founded

2018

HQ

Los Angeles, California, USA

Lead Investor

Khosla Ventures

Engine Partner

Pratt & Whitney (RTX) — modified F100 engine

Founders

AJ Piplica (CEO), Zach Shore, Glenn Case

Total fundingsee investors →

~$510M+ ($100M Series B by Sam Altman + $350M Series C at $1B)

Series C lead

Khosla Ventures ($200M equity + $150M debt)

Product

Quarterhorse — unmanned hypersonic aircraft (Mk 1 flew, Mk 2 testing)

DIU contract

$219M total ceiling for hypersonic subsystem/mission tech

FAA

Special airworthiness certificate for Quarterhorse

Speed target

Mach 5+ (hypersonic)

Data & sources

News coverage

1

1 source backing this record.View all →

Models (1)

View all models →

Current platform

Quarterhorse

Unmanned (remote-controlled) hypersonic aircraft demonstrator. Powered by a modified Pratt & Whitney F100 engine under partnership with RTX. Hermeus has flown an F-16-sized demonstrator and is targeting supersonic flight; a third aircraft is in development. Aims for Mach 5 capability.

aerialView model →

Hermeus on the deployment map

Where Hermeus's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Current leadership (2)

AJ Piplica CEO & Co-founderreported, not verified
Zach Shore Co-founderreported, not verified

Safety record

No incidents on record for Hermeus.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →

Recent coverage

Hermeus in third-party press

Hermeus Reaches $1 Billion Valuation with $350 Million Raise

Apr 7, 2026

Hermeus Flies Quarterhorse Mk 1 at Edwards Air Force Base

Jan 1, 2025

Funding rounds (2)

Series C2026-04-07
$350M
Series B2022-03-10
$100M

See the full valuations ranking →

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Record createdJul 25, 2026
Added to the verified registry

Full change history →

Sources (1)

https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/07/hermeus-raises-350m-to-build-unmanned-hypersonic-fighters/

Common questions

What is Hermeus?: Defense aviation startup building unmanned hypersonic aircraft (Mach 5+). Founded 2018 by AJ Piplica, Zach Shore, and Glenn Case. Quarterhorse Mk 1 flew at Edwards AFB, Mk 2 in flight testing. $350M Series C at $1B valuation (April 2026), led by Khosla Ventures. DIU contract $219M total ceiling. FAA special airworthiness certificate granted.
What does Hermeus make?: Hermeus has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Quarterhorse (Hermeus builds physical robots).
Who is the CEO of Hermeus?: AJ Piplica is the ceo of Hermeus, per the DEPLOY registry.
Where is Hermeus headquartered?: Hermeus is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA.
How much funding has Hermeus raised?: Hermeus has raised approximately $350M in disclosed funding on record in the DEPLOY registry.
Where does Hermeus operate robots?: Hermeus is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
When was Hermeus founded?: Hermeus was founded in 2018.
Is Hermeus safe?: Hermeus has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.

Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-25

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-25

Sources by quality tier

1: secondary-industry-publication; Industry publication

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

In the press

Recent coverage mentioning Hermeus from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.

HermeusApr 7, 2026

Hermeus Reaches $1 Billion Valuation with $350 Million Raise

$350M raise ($200M equity + $150M debt) at $1B valuation. Khosla Ventures led, with Founders Fund, Canaan Partners, In-Q-Tel, RTX Ventures, Cox Enterprises.

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HermeusJan 1, 2025

Hermeus Flies Quarterhorse Mk 1 at Edwards Air Force Base

Quarterhorse Mk 1 first flight at Edwards AFB. Second first flight in less than a year (Mk 2 also flew).

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Machine-readable surfaces

Markdown mirror: /companies/hermeus.md
RSS feed: /companies/hermeus/feed.xml
JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
REST API: /v1/companies/eb49f21e-06ad-499f-9fa8-1a4ff49aed9d
Revision history: /companies/hermeus/history
Data documentation: /data
Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP