British-German defence tech startup Hypersonica has secured €100m in a Hypersonica Series B funding round on 2 November 2026 to accelerate development of sovereign European hypersonic strike systems, expanding testing programmes and creating hundreds of engineering jobs across the United Kingdom and Germany.
Key points
- The €100m round was co-led by venture capital firms Lightspeed and General Catalyst, with backing from existing investors Plural and 201 Ventures.
- Hypersonica plans to deliver European-controlled hypersonic deep-strike missiles capable of exceeding Mach 5 with ranges beyond 2,000 kilometres by 2029.
- The funding supports work under the UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement, designed to reduce reliance on American weapons systems.
- Capital will fund expanded flight testing and new manufacturing facilities in Munich and London.
Backing European deep-strike capabilities
Munich-headquartered Hypersonica closed the round to finance its plan to build long-range conventional weapons that fly at more than five times the speed of sound. The round follows a €23.2m Series A round completed in February 2026, which Plural led with backing from General Catalyst and 201 Ventures.
The company operates its primary headquarters in Munich and maintains an operational subsidiary in London. Both locations will see hiring increases, with the company aiming to recruit hundreds of engineers, software designers, and manufacturing specialists over the next two years.
Lightspeed and General Catalyst co-led the investment, marking one of the largest single capital injections into a European defence hardware startup this year. Venture firms have shifted significant capital into defence technology across Europe over the past eighteen months, backing startups that promise to deliver military hardware at lower costs than established contractors.
The Trinity House Agreement
Hypersonica forms a central commercial component of the bilateral Trinity House Agreement signed between Britain and Germany. The pact commits London and Berlin to develop long-range conventional strike weapons together, specifically targeting systems capable of striking targets at distances greater than 2,000 kilometres.
European militaries have long relied on US-manufactured missile systems or joint European consortia such as MBDA. However, procurement through legacy procurement routes often takes a decade or longer. Hypersonica aims to deploy operational deep-strike hardware by 2029, compressing development timelines by relying on rapid prototyping and modular manufacturing.
By designing, testing, and manufacturing the hardware entirely inside Europe, the company aims to ensure European nations retain full sovereign control over supply chains, software, and operational deployment without foreign export controls.
What the founders say
Co-founders Dr Philipp Kerth, the chief executive, and Dr Marc Ewenz, the chief technology officer, founded Hypersonica in 2023 to challenge conventional defence contracting methods.
Kerth and Ewenz said in a joint statement: “The debate about whether Europe needs hypersonic deep-strike capability is over.”
The founders pointed to state procurement budgets opening up across NATO allies as evidence that national governments are committed to fielding next-generation strike weapons. They noted that the primary hurdle for Western forces is now moving from research programmes into rapid manufacturing.
Kerth and Ewenz added: “The challenge now is delivery. Europe needs credible hypersonic long-range capability, and more value for every pound and euro it spends.”
What hypersonic speed demands
Building missiles that travel faster than Mach 5 presents severe engineering hurdles. At hypersonic speeds, friction against atmospheric air generates temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees Celsius, requiring specialized heat shielding and novel metallurgy.
Guidance systems must also function through ionized plasma sheaths that frequently block standard radio communications. Hypersonica relies on onboard autonomy and real-time sensor processing to adjust flight paths without requiring constant satellite contact.
Traditional ballistic missiles also reach hypersonic velocities, but they travel along predictable high-altitude arcs that modern radar tracking networks can anticipate. Hypersonic glide vehicles and cruise weapons fly lower in the atmosphere and manoeuvre throughout their flight, making them significantly harder for surface-to-air interceptors to stop.
What happens next
Hypersonica will direct the Series B proceeds toward wind-tunnel trials, component testing, and full-scale aerodynamic flight tests scheduled over the next twenty-four months.
The company will also fit out production facilities in Bavaria and southern England to assemble rocket motors, airframes, and guidance packages locally. The startup expects to conduct its next major flight test milestones ahead of government delivery targets in 2029.
