Castelion Raises $1B Series C at $13B Valuation to Scale Hypersonic Weapons
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Torrance, California-based defence technology startup Castelion has raised $1 billion in Series C funding at a $13 billion valuation.
The round includes $800 million in equity co-led by JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz and funds managed by Carlyle, along with a $250 million revolving credit facility. Returning investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst and Interlagos, while T. Rowe Price Associates joined as a new investor.
Founded in 2022 by former SpaceX executives Bryon Hargis, Sean Pitt and Andrew Kreitz, Castelion is developing next-generation hypersonic weapons and other defence systems, with a focus on combining advanced technology with high-volume manufacturing.
The company has secured more than $500 million in US military contracts over the past 18 months and has taken its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon from development to a Pentagon programme of record in under four years. Fielding is targeted for 2027.
Castelion is building its manufacturing capabilities at Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre campus in New Mexico. The company has already committed more than $250 million of private capital to infrastructure at the site and plans to invest significantly more as it scales production.
Under a framework agreement with the Department of War, Castelion is targeting production of at least 500 Blackbeard missiles annually once testing is complete.
The new funding will support the expansion of manufacturing at Project Ranger, accelerate Blackbeard production and fund development of a longer-range precision strike weapon and lower-cost air and missile defence systems.
Castelion has raised roughly $1.27 billion in equity funding to date, excluding the new credit facility. Its latest round reflects growing investor interest in defence technology and companies seeking to modernise the traditional defence manufacturing model.
The key challenge now is execution: Castelion will need to prove that its high-volume manufacturing approach can deliver hundreds of hypersonic weapons annually while meeting performance, cost and military procurement requirements.
