Company

Hop Aero

Hop Aero is a Y Combinator S26 startup building autonomous hypersonic cargo rockets for point-to-point delivery to contested environments.

Track Hop Aero

Founded: 2024
HQ: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Status: private

CategoryDrones

Models

Overview

Rook launches from a standard 40-foot shipping container and lands on unprepared surfaces, requiring no runways or fixed infrastructure. The company has won a $1.25M US Air Force contract and completed tethered flight testing of its prototype.

Verified record

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

Key facts

CEO

Matija Milenovic

CTO & Co-founder

Jacob Balaj

YC Batch

Summer 2026 (S26)

Fundingsee investors →

$3M pre-seed

Air Force contract

$1.25M SBIR (DoW)

Team size

Payload

250 kg (550 lbs)

Range

750 km (450 miles)

Flight time

~15 minutes

Launch method

Standard 40-foot shipping container

Landing

Unprepared surfaces, no runway required

Speed class

Hypersonic

Milestones

Tethered flight test completed; engine hot-fire completed

Use case

Military logistics, contested environments, time-critical commercial delivery

Data & sources

Web sources

3 sources backing this record.View all →

Models (1)

View all models →

Current platform

Rook

Rook is an autonomous hypersonic cargo rocket that delivers 250 kg (550 lbs) of payload up to 750 km (450 miles) in approximately 15 minutes. It launches from a standard 40-foot shipping container and lands on unprepared surfaces, requiring no runways or fixed infrastructure. The vehicle flies point-to-point at hypersonic speeds through space, re-entering the atmosphere to deliver cargo to austere locations. Completed tethered flight testing of a small-scale prototype and successful engine hot-fire testing.

aerialView model →

Hop Aero on the deployment map

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

Relationships

UUS Air ForceCustomerYY CombinatorInvestor

Current leadership (4)

Matija Milenovic Founder & CEOsecondary-verified
Matija Milenovic Co-foundersecondary-verified
Jacob Balaj Co-founder & CTOsecondary-verified
Jacob Balaj Co-foundersecondary-verified

Safety record

No incidents on record for Hop Aero.

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

Hop Aero in third-party press

Introducing Rook by Hop Aero (YC S26): autonomous hypersonic cargo rocket

Jul 28, 2026

Hop Aero (YC S26) is building Rook, an autonomous hypersonic cargo rocket

Jul 28, 2026

Financial state

Reporting basis: private_reported
Lifecycle stage: early
Counterparty risk class: unknown

Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Partnerships (1)

Hop Aero x US Air Force (Rocket Cargo SBIR) with US Air Forcedevelopment

Funding rounds (1)

Pre-Seed
$3M(reported)
Investors: Y Combinator

See the full valuations ranking →

Recent activity

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

Record createdJul 28, 2026
Added to the verified registry

Full change history →

Sources (3)

Hop Aero: Rocket cargo delivery to contested environments · https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/hop-aero · 2026-07-28
Hop Aero: company website · https://hop-aero.com/ · 2026-07-28
Matija Milenovic: Founder of Hop Aero · https://x.com/milenovic925501 · 2026-07-28

Common questions

What is Hop Aero?

Hop Aero is a Y Combinator S26 startup building autonomous hypersonic cargo rockets for point-to-point delivery to contested environments. Its vehicle, Rook, delivers 250 kg (550 lbs) of cargo up to 750 km (450 miles) in approximately 15 minutes — faster than any existing transportation method. Rook launches from a standard 40-foot shipping container and lands on unprepared surfaces, requiring no runways or fixed infrastructure. The company has won a $1.25M US Air Force contract and completed tethered flight testing of its prototype.

What does Hop Aero make?

Hop Aero has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Rook (Hop Aero builds physical robots).

Is Hop Aero publicly traded?

No. Hop Aero is privately held and not publicly traded, per the DEPLOY registry.

Who is the CEO of Hop Aero?

Matija Milenovic is the ceo of Hop Aero, per the DEPLOY registry.

How can I invest in Hop Aero?

Hop Aero is a private company; its shares are not available on public markets, so retail investors cannot buy the stock today.

Where is Hop Aero headquartered?

Hop Aero is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Who owns Hop Aero?

Hop Aero is privately held; ownership sits with its founders and private investors.

Where does Hop Aero operate robots?

Hop Aero 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 Hop Aero founded?

Hop Aero was founded in 2024.

Is Hop Aero safe?

Hop Aero 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 · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-28

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-28

Sources by quality tier

3: unclassified; Unclassified source

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