Venus Aerospace, a company developing a 3D printing-enabled high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), has raised $91 million in a Series B financing round.
The round is set to fund Venus’ next phase of development and production, moving its RDRE propulsion system toward deployment for a range of near-term defence and space applications.
Last year, the company completed what Venus believes was the world’s first successful flight test of an RDRE engine. The RDRE engine employs a continuous supersonic detonation wave that rotates around the combustion chamber, increasing efficiency by 15% and enhancing payload flexibility, according to Venus.
Manufactured with 3D printed components and standard materials, the RDRE is ‘designed for domestic manufacturing at scale’, with Venus hoping to reduce reliance on foreign-sourced parts. The engine is said to be reusable, throttleable, and designed with a common propulsion architecture to serve multiple mission classes. Venus says the RDRE engine can be used in munitions, space launch, orbital transfer, and lander vehicles.
“This financing marks an important step in moving Venus from breakthrough demonstration to scaled capability,” said Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO of Veus Aerospace. “Our customers need propulsion systems that go farther, can be produced reliably and are built on supply chains they can trust. We are advancing that capability with American engineering and manufacturing talent to strengthen US defence, expand space access, and support the future of high-speed flight.”
The funding round was led by Mercury Fund, with contributions also coming from Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, and Green Sands Equity, among others.
“Venus is exactly the kind of company Houston capital should be backing,” said Blair Garrou, co-founder and Managing Partner at Mercury Fund. “It combines multiple frontier technologies, domestic manufacturing and clear commercial and national security relevance. We believe this team is positioned to lead an important new chapter in defence and space, and we are proud to support a company building breakthrough technology here in Texas.”
“Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in technologies to help increase mission effectiveness,” added Chris Moran, Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. “Since our initial investment, Venus has progressed very quickly in its technology development. Our reinvestment in Venus recognises Venus’ accomplishments to date and focus on speed to manufacture, cost management, and reduction of supply chain constraints. Venus is working effectively to position its propulsion systems for the production scale required by defence programs.”
Venus was founded in 2021 and, prior to its Series B round, had raised $80m in capital.
