CategoryDrones
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
Founded
HQ
Lead Investor
Engine Partner
Founders
Series C lead
Product
DIU contract
FAA
Speed target
Data & sources
News coverage
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Hermeus on the deployment map
Where Hermeus's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
- delivery and inspection drones in United States →
- delivery and inspection drones in California →
- delivery and inspection drones in Ukraine (combat zones) →
- delivery and inspection drones in Nevada →
- delivery and inspection drones in United Kingdom →
- delivery and inspection drones in China →
- The global deployment map →
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
Funding rounds (2)
- Series C2026-04-07
$350M
- Series B2022-03-10
$100M
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJul 25, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Hermeus?
What does Hermeus make?
Who is the CEO of Hermeus?
Where is Hermeus headquartered?
How much funding has Hermeus raised?
Where does Hermeus operate robots?
Is Hermeus a top robotics company?
When was Hermeus founded?
Is Hermeus safe?
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.
Methodology surface for Hermeus.In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Hermeus from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
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.
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).
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
Reality vs attention
Hermeus draws attention at the 9th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among aerial robots.
Analysis
Well-capitalized with $450M raised and recent funding activity. Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 26, 2026