A British-German defence startup developing hypersonic long-range missiles which travel at more than five times the speed of sound has raised €100m in funding, it said today.

Hypersonica has raised the Series B funding, in a round co-led by US investors Lightspeed and General Catalyst, which are big investors in European defence startups, with participation from existing investors including Plural and 201 Ventures.

The Series B follows its €23.2m Series A in February this year, led by Plural, with General Catalyst and 201 Ventures also participating.

The startup, which is headquartered in Munich with a subsidiary in London, is looking to develop military technology quicker and cheaper than traditional defence firms while ensuring Europe has a sovereign long-range strike offering, and is less reliant on US tech.

The startup, founded in 2023, said it will use the funding to speed up developing its deep-strike missiles, increase testing, expand its operations across Europe, along with creating hundreds of engineering and manufacturing jobs in the UK and Germany.

Hypersonica is part of an agreement between the UK and Germany, called the Trinity House Agreement, to jointly develop long-range conventional weapons, including hypersonic systems with ranges exceeding 2,000 kilometres. Hypersonica, which develops and controls its own tech in Europe, aims to develop hypersonic deep-strike systems by 2029 while building a broader European technology and manufacturing base.

Hypersonica co-founders Dr. Philipp Kerth, CEO and Dr. Marc Ewenz, CTO, said: “The debate about whether Europe needs hypersonic deep-strike capability is over.

"Governments have recognised the requirement and begun funding programmes. The challenge now is delivery. Europe needs credible hypersonic long-range capability, and more value for every pound and euro it spends. We have shown that next-generation hypersonic systems can be developed in Europe faster and more affordably than conventional wisdom suggests. And we’re proud to be backed by investors who share our conviction that Europe should be able to develop and produce advanced strategic capabilities itself.”