Analysis
Hypersonica, a British-German defense startup building hypersonic long-range missiles, has raised a €100 million Series B co-led by US investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst, with participation from existing backers Plural and 201 Ventures, as reported by Tech.eu.
What Hypersonica does
Founded in 2023, Hypersonica is headquartered in Munich with a subsidiary in London. Co-founders Dr. Philipp Kerth, the CEO, and Dr. Marc Ewenz, the CTO, are developing hypersonic deep-strike missile systems -- weapons capable of sustained flight at many times the speed of sound, a capability Western Europe has historically imported from the US rather than built domestically. The company says it develops and controls its own technology in Europe specifically to reduce that reliance.
Hypersonica funding history
Hypersonica's new Series B follows a €23.2 million Series A in February 2026 that was led by Plural, with General Catalyst and 201 Ventures also participating, according to Tech.eu. The roughly nine-month gap between a €23.2 million round and a €100 million round -- more than quadrupling the capital raised -- reflects how quickly European defense-tech valuations have moved this year as governments accelerate rearmament spending.
“Founded in 2023, Hypersonica is headquartered in Munich with a subsidiary in London.”
Who invested in Hypersonica
Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst co-led the Series B. General Catalyst also participated in the Series A alongside Plural, which led that earlier round, and 201 Ventures, which has now backed both rounds. The repeat participation from General Catalyst, Plural and 201 Ventures suggests Hypersonica's existing investor base is doubling down rather than being diluted by new entrants arriving late. Lightspeed's arrival as a new co-lead is notable because the Silicon Valley firm has historically concentrated its defense-tech bets in the US, making this one of its more visible European hardware wagers.
Europe's hypersonic deep-strike push
Hypersonica's raise is tied directly to the UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement, a bilateral program to jointly develop long-range conventional weapons, including hypersonic systems with ranges beyond 2,000 kilometers. The company is targeting hypersonic deep-strike systems by 2029, and plans to use the new capital to accelerate development, increase testing, expand operations across Europe and create hundreds of engineering and manufacturing jobs in the UK and Germany. Kerth and Ewenz said in a statement that "the debate about whether Europe needs hypersonic deep-strike capability is over," arguing the continent needs "credible hypersonic long-range capability, and more value for every pound and euro it spends." That framing positions Hypersonica alongside a broader wave of European defense-tech startups that have raised large rounds this year as NATO governments push to reduce reliance on US-built weapons systems. Hypersonica's February Series A was previously covered by German outlet Munich Startup, which reported the earlier round at roughly the same size Tech.eu now cites.
What to watch next
However, Tech.eu's report names no confirmed government contracts or customers for Hypersonica yet, and the company's 2029 target sits inside a defense-procurement system where European programs of this scale have historically slipped. The test for Hypersonica's new capital is whether the Trinity House Agreement converts into funded procurement contracts on that timeline, or whether -- like many hypersonic programs before it -- the hardware takes longer to mature than the funding rounds suggest.