Hypersonica Raises $28M Series A And Completes Mach 6 Test Flight

Hypersonica raises $28M Series A and completes Mach 6 test flight as Europe pushes for sovereign hypersonic capability

Munich-based defense startup Hypersonica has emerged from stealth with a €23.3 million Series A funding round and the successful test launch of a hypersonic missile prototype, marking one of the first privately funded hypersonic test flights in Europe.

The Series A was led by Plural, with participation from SPRIND - Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen (Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation), General Catalyst, and 201 Ventures. General Catalyst previously led the company’s €2.5 million seed round.

Founded in December 2023 by Dr. Philipp K. and Dr. Dr. Marc Ewenz, Hypersonica is developing what it describes as Europe’s first privately funded hypersonic strike capability. 

The company aims to deliver an initial shorter-range hypersonic system by 2027, followed by fully operational hypersonic glide vehicles by 2029, targeting demand from NATO member states for deep precision strike capabilities.

On 3 February, Hypersonica conducted its first successful test flight from Andøya Space in Norway. The test vehicle, launched atop a partner-provided booster, exceeded Mach 6 (over 7,400 km/h) and achieved a range of more than 300 kilometers. According to the company, flight performance was validated down to subcomponent level at hypersonic speeds.

The test mission, internally referred to as SCOOTER, was developed in collaboration with German Aerospace Center (DLR), which has decades of experience in hypersonic research, including its SHEFEX (Sharp Edge Flight Experiment) program.

Hypersonica says its accelerated development timeline, moving from founding to launch in roughly nine months, reflects both urgent geopolitical demand and a software-driven, iterative engineering approach. 

The company currently employs 50 staff across Germany and the UK and plans successive test flights to demonstrate sustained hypersonic flight, advanced manoeuvrability, and full mission capability.

The newly raised capital will fund expanded flight testing, system scaling, and continued development toward operational deployment, as European governments increase investment in sovereign defense and deterrence technologies.

Image Credits: Hypersonica