Torrance Firm Castelion Raises $1 Billion Series C to Scale Production of Hypersonic Weapons

Castelion, a defense technology company working to restore America’s conventional deterrence capability, raised a $1 billion Series C round to accelerate the scaled production of Blackbeard, Castelion’s first low-cost, mass-producible hypersonic strike missile, while expanding the company’s product portfolio to include longer-range strike weapons and defensive systems.

“Deterrence depends on unapologetic American strength – highly capable weapon systems that adversaries fear produced in quantities they can’t imagine at a price taxpayers can afford,” said Bryon Hargis, co-founder and chief executive of Castelion, in a statement. “There’s a manufacturing renaissance underway, and this round turbocharges American production of Blackbeard. Designed in California, built in New Mexico, supplied from small and large businesses across the United States, Blackbeard is an example of what America can do when private capital and government work together.”

Castelion has secured more than $500 million in U.S. military contracts over the past 18 months and took Blackbeard from a clean sheet to program of record in under four years, with fielding targeted for 2027.

The round valued the Torrance startup at $13 billion. Funds raised include a combination of $800 million in equity financing and $250 million in committed financing for a revolving credit facility. The equity financing was co-led by JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, part of the firm’s Security and Resiliency Initiative, Andreessen Horowitz and funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst and Interlagos joined new investor T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

“We backed Castelion when it was a small team that wanted to build what the Department of War most needed faster and cheaper than the experts thought possible,” said Katherine Boyle, general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, in a statement. “Four years later, there is a factory in New Mexico and a production agreement with the Department of War. American Dynamism has always believed that the hardest and most important problems are physical ones, and this is the clearest proof of it we have that excellent teams can help solve them.”

Since its founding, Castelion has moved from early development to repeated flight testing, operational integration and construction of a dedicated high-rate production capability. This new capital will allow Castelion to increase Blackbeard production capacity, develop a longer-range strike system and develop defensive systems.

“Lightspeed led Castelion’s Series A before a complete system had flown,” said Ravi Mhatre, co-founder of Lightspeed Venture Partners, in a statement. “Three rounds later, the company is mixing its own propellant in New Mexico and shipping hardware to the services. Very few teams convert capital into physical capability at that ratio, which is why we have invested in every round since.”

Information for this story was provided by Castelion.