Mach Industries, a three-year-old defense tech startup led by 22-year-old CEO Ethan Thornton, raised $300 million in Series C funding at a $1.8 billion valuation, nearly quadrupling its value from $470 million a year ago. The round was led by Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Khosla Ventures, and was oversubscribed even at the increased $300 million target.
Autonomous Vehicle Portfolio And New Contract
Mach has five autonomous vehicles in development: Viper (jet-powered vertical takeoff), Glide (high-altitude weapon-launching glider), Stratos (airborne surveillance), Dart (low-cost counter-drone interceptor), and Pike (long-range munitions launcher), with production expected next year on at least three systems. This week, the company won a Department of Defense contract from the Defense Innovation Unit to develop a sixth vehicle, the Navy’s “runway-independent strike aircraft,” which Thornton says could also have commercial applications.
Rapid Growth And Manufacturing Expansion
The Huntington Beach, California company grew from about 12 employees in its first year to 350 today, operates a 115,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, and plans to add four new production facilities by the end of 2026. Thornton dropped out of MIT at 19 to found Mach, and VC enthusiasm is high as defense tech becomes a hot investment area alongside AI, especially after autonomous weapons and drone defense systems proved themselves in Ukraine.
Exquadrum Acquisition And Rocket Motor Control
Mach acquired solid rocket motor startup Exquadrum in a $50 million cash-and-equity deal last month, beating eight other buyers to secure control over rocket motors amid an acute shortage dominated by Aerojet Rocketdyne and Northrop Grumman with multi-year lead times. The acquisition launched Mach Energetics, a commercial business selling engines, with revenue currently split 50/50 between government and commercial sales.
Speed Of Product Development
Thornton said he’s most proud of the speed of product development, noting it traditionally takes four years to build a jet engine in defense, but Mach went from no team to a jet engine firing in about eight months. The startup’s mission is to deliver faster, more affordable products to the military and commercial users compared to expensive, bespoke offerings from legacy prime defense contractors.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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