Raytheon Technologies has partnered with hypersonic aircraft company, Hermeus, through a strategic investment via its corporate venture capital group, RTX Ventures.
Joining Hermeus’ previously announced $100m Series B financing round, RTX Ventures’ investment in the company will directly support the buildout of its first aircraft, Quarterhorse, and accelerate development of its next aircraft, Darkhorse.
RTX Ventures makes strategic investments in early-stage companies, accelerating the development of transformational aerospace and defence technologies. Beyond just making investments, RTX Ventures leverages the strengths of the broader Raytheon Technologies organisation to support successful growth in its portfolio companies.
“Hypersonic technologies are of critical importance to national security, which is why we made our first investment in a company with such a bold plan and vision in this space,” said Daniel Ateya, managing director of RTX Ventures. “Hermeus’ technical approach and business plan balances near-term defence applications with long-term commercial aspirations and will help our customers reimagine the possibilities of hypersonic technologies.”
“Hypersonic aircraft will radically accelerate air travel and enable the United States to address critical national security challenges,” said AJ Piplica, CEO at Hermeus. “Speed is our lifeblood at Hermeus, and I’ve been impressed with the ability of the team at RTX Ventures to embody that virtue. We look forward to expanding collaboration and continued acceleration of our vision for a faster future.”
RTX Ventures focuses on supporting companies developing technologies that are strategically aligned to the Raytheon Technologies portfolio, with an emphasis on four broad priority areas: secure and connected ecosystems, autonomy and artificial intelligence technologies, power and propulsion systems, and precision sensing and effects.
Hermeus is a startup company developing hypersonic aircraft for defense and commercial applications. At Mach 5, more than twice the speed of the supersonic Concorde, passengers will be able to cross the Atlantic in 90 minutes.
On the path to hypersonic passenger aircraft, Hermeus is partnering with government agencies including the US Air Force and NASA to develop a series of autonomous aircraft that derisk the technology and solve urgent national security challenges. These products provide the data and confidence necessary to certify, produce, operate, and maintain safe and comfortable commercial aircraft.
