Aerospace
68 companies in this sector.
| # | Company | Description | Location | Status | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | SpaceX | Aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company designing, manufacturing, and launching advanced rockets and spacecraft with the goal of enabling human life on Mars. | Starbase, US | Public | $11.9B |
| 02 | Anduril Industries | Anduril Industries is a defense technology company building autonomous systems, AI software, and sensor hardware for military and national security applications. Founded by Oculus VR creator Palmer Luckey and former Palantir employees, the company builds products including autonomous drones, surveillance towers, underwater vehicles, and the Lattice AI platform that integrates sensors and effectors into a unified command-and-control system. | Costa Mesa, United States | Private | $11.3B |
| 03 | Shield AI | Defense technology company building autonomous AI pilot software and unmanned aircraft systems. Its flagship Hivemind software enables teams of aircraft to execute missions autonomously without GPS, communications, or remote pilots. Also develops the Nova quadcopter and V-BAT vertical takeoff drone. | San Diego, California, United States | Private | $3.7B |
| 04 | Saronic | Autonomous shipbuilder developing AI-powered unmanned surface vessels for the U.S. Navy and allied militaries. Building Port Alpha, a next-generation autonomous shipyard, alongside production facilities in Louisiana and Texas. Plans to build 20+ ships per year by 2027. Holds a $392M Navy contract. | Austin, United States | Private | $3.0B |
| 05 | Helsing | Munich-based European defense AI company building software for military hardware (drones, jets, submarines) and a sovereign-AI alternative to US-built defense tech. ~80% European-owned with an active €1.46B German military drone contract. Daniel Ek-backed through Prima Materia, now Germany's most valuable startup at $18B. | Munich, Germany | Private | $2.7B |
| 06 | Sierra Space | Space and defense technology company developing satellite platforms, the Dream Chaser reusable spaceplane, hypersonic technologies, and propulsion systems. Spun out of Sierra Nevada Corporation in 2021 to focus on commercial and national security space missions. Collaborating with Blue Origin on the Orbital Reef commercial space station. | Louisville, United States | Private | $2.2B |
| 07 | Zipline | Zipline designs, manufactures, and operates autonomous delivery drones, running the world's largest commercial autonomous logistics network. The company began delivering blood and medical supplies to remote clinics in Rwanda in 2016 and has expanded to seven countries and consumer deliveries with partners like Walmart. Zipline has completed over 2 million commercial drone deliveries. | San Francisco, United States | Private | $1.8B |
| 08 | Relativity Space | Aerospace manufacturer using AI-driven robotics and metal 3D printing to build rockets, developing the fully reusable Terran R designed to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 for satellite deployment to low Earth orbit. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $1.4B |
| 09 | Skydio | Skydio is an American autonomous drone manufacturer that builds AI-powered drones for enterprise, public safety, and defense applications. The largest drone manufacturer in the United States, its autonomous flight platform is used by over 1,200 organizations including the U.S. Department of Defense. | San Mateo, United States | Private | $1.2B |
| 10 | Astranis | Astranis builds small geostationary broadband satellites (MicroGEO) that are roughly 1/20th the size of traditional GEO spacecraft, drastically reducing manufacturing and launch costs. The company operates the satellites it builds and leases dedicated capacity to telecom and internet service providers, connecting underserved regions worldwide. | San Francisco, United States | Private | $1.1B |
| 11 | True Anomaly | Centennial, Colorado-based defense-tech company building spacecraft and mission systems for orbital warfare, space domain awareness, and counterspace operations. Founded 2022 by ex-USAF Space Operations officers, reached $2.2B valuation on its $650M Series D in April 2026. | Centennial, United States | Private | $1.0B |
| 12 | Impulse Space | Redondo Beach-based in-space mobility infrastructure company. Builds the Mira maneuvering tug, Helios kick stage, Caravan GEO rideshare, and is planning lunar cargo missions. Founded 2021 by former SpaceX Merlin engine architect Tom Mueller. | Redondo Beach, USA | Private | $1.0B |
| 13 | Helion Energy | Everett, Washington-based private fusion electricity startup building Polaris, its 7th prototype. Targeting first commercial fusion power plant delivering electricity to a Microsoft data center by 2028, and a 500MW plant for Nucor in the 2030s. Founded 2013; Sam Altman is longtime board chair. | Everett, USA | Private | $990M |
| 14 | ICEYE | Espoo, Finland-based operator of the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation. Sells 'sovereign intelligence from space' to defense, intelligence, insurance, and emergency management customers. Aalto University spinout, founded 2014. | Espoo, Finland | Private | $940M |
| 15 | Joby Aviation | Developing an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph for on-demand air taxi services, targeting commercial operations in 2026. | Santa Cruz, United States | Public | $795M |
| 16 | Hadrian | Hadrian is building autonomous factories for precision manufacturing, using AI and robotics to produce complex parts for aerospace, defense, and space companies. The company operates software-defined factories where AI plans machining operations, robots handle material flow, and the system continuously optimizes for quality and throughput. Hadrian aims to rebuild America's precision manufacturing capacity to support national security and space exploration. | Los Angeles, United States | Private | $626M |
| 17 | Quantum Systems | Munich-based reconnaissance drone manufacturer. Builds Trinity F90+ and Vector electric VTOL fixed-wing drones deployed with Ukrainian armed forces, NATO members, and civilian mapping operators. Ships 200+ units per quarter, 90% for defense customers. Founded 2015. | Gilching, Germany | Private | $561M |
| 18 | Skyryse | Aviation technology company building SkyOS, a universal operating system for flight that makes any aircraft safer and simpler to fly. | Los Angeles, US | Private | $518M |
| 19 | Vast | Space habitat company developing the world's first commercial space station, Haven-1, designed for both crewed missions and in-space manufacturing. Founded by Stellar co-founder Jed McCaleb, the company is building a 100-meter-long rotating space station to enable long-term human habitation in orbit. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $500M |
| 20 | Valar Atomics | Nuclear reactor startup building small modular reactors (SMRs) designed to power AI data centers and produce synthetic fuels. Airlifted its first reactor from California to Utah aboard three C-17 Globemaster aircraft in February 2026. Targeting criticality before July 4, 2026, as part of the DOE pilot program. | El Segundo, United States | Private | $489M |
| 21 | Mach Industries | Huntington Beach-based defense manufacturer building Viper (jet VTOL one-way attack), Glide (high-altitude strike glider), Stratos (surveillance), Dart (counter-drone interceptor), and Pike (long-range strike). Operates the Forge flexible manufacturing network. Acquired Exquadrum (now Mach Energetics) in 2025. Founded 2023 by 22-year-old MIT dropout Ethan Thornton. | Huntington Beach, USA | Private | $485M |
| 22 | PhysicsX | London-based AI-native engineering platform building Large Physics Models that replace day-long industrial simulations (aerospace, semiconductors, automotive, energy, materials) with second-scale predictions. Founded 2019. | London, United Kingdom | Private | $467M |
| 23 | Boston Metal | Woburn, MA Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) platform for green steel and critical metals (niobium, tantalum, vanadium, nickel). MIT spinout; 1,600°C electrolysis decarbonizes steelmaking and unlocks low-grade ore. Pilot facility in Brazil restarting in September 2026. Lifetime raised crossed $500M+ with the May 2026 Tata Steel-led expansion. | Woburn, United States | Private | $442M |
| 24 | CesiumAstro | Develops advanced phased array communication systems for satellites, UAVs, and other aerospace platforms. | Austin, US | Private | $407M |
| 25 | Amca | El Segundo aerospace and defense components company (Advanced Manufacturing Company of America). Sensors, power units, flight-control computers, hydraulics, and avionics. Customers include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Airbus, Embraer, Honeywell, and Raytheon. 6 facilities across CA/NY/IA, 123,000+ sq ft of qualified production. | El Segundo, United States | Private | $377M |
| 26 | Cowboy Space | Bay Area vertically integrated orbital data center company (formerly Aetherflux). Builds a constellation of solar-powered LEO satellites that double as AI compute nodes, launched on a purpose-built in-house rocket whose second stage IS the data center. Founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt. | San Carlos, United States | Private | $335M |
| 27 | Armada | Kirkland, Washington modular AI data center builder producing megawatt-scale deployable Leviathan units for remote sites including energy, defense, and edge applications. Galleon Forge One factory in Arizona partnership with Johnson Controls. Raised $230M Series B at a $2B valuation in May 2026. | Kirkland, United States | Private | $325M |
| 28 | Hermeus | Defense aviation company developing autonomous high-Mach unmanned aircraft for the U.S. military. Flew an F-16-sized demonstrator in March 2026, aiming for supersonic speeds in the next iteration. Building the fastest unmanned aircraft flying today. Total raised over $500M. | Los Angeles, United States | Private | $319M |
| 29 | Reliable Robotics | Reliable Robotics develops the Reliable Autonomy System (RAS), the first FAA-certifiable system designed to enable fully automated operation of existing fixed-wing aircraft. The hardware and software integrates with existing aircraft types to manage navigation, communication, and flight control without onboard pilots. Selected for DOT eIPP advanced aviation pilot program with commitments for over 200 systems. | Mountain View, United States | Private | $294M |
| 30 | Xona Space Systems | Developer of next-generation satellite navigation technology. Building the Pulsar constellation of 258 low-Earth-orbit satellites that deliver GPS-alternative positioning signals 100x stronger than GPS, without requiring expensive atomic clocks. Eliminates GPS vulnerabilities including jamming, spoofing, and indoor/urban signal loss. | Burlingame, California, United States | Private | $289M |
| 31 | Kela | Tel Aviv defense-tech company building an open-architecture operating system for modern militaries. Connects sensors, drones, and UAVs into a unified real-time battlefield picture for command and control. Generated ~$20M in 2025 revenue and crossed the unicorn line on its May 2026 Series C. | Tel Aviv, Israel | Private | $239M |
| 32 | Starcloud | Space computing startup building an 88,000-satellite constellation to serve as orbital data centers, using near-continuous solar power in orbit to run AI compute workloads. Launched its first satellite with an Nvidia H100 GPU in November 2025. Fastest unicorn in Y Combinator history. | Redmond, Washington, United States | Private | $200M |
| 33 | Havoc AI | Providence, Rhode Island all-domain collaborative autonomy company developing modular software-defined autonomy and unmanned surface vessels. A single operator can task, monitor, and supervise thousands of heterogeneous unmanned assets across sea, air, and land. Backed by Lockheed Martin and former Congressman Devin Nunes (Board Chair). | Providence, United States | Private | $200M |
| 34 | Advanced Navigation | Australian company developing positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies for autonomous systems that function when GPS signals are degraded or unavailable. Serves defense, maritime, robotics, and aerospace sectors with AI-powered navigation solutions. | Sydney, Australia | Private | $190M |
| 35 | Firestorm Labs | San Diego defense startup building xCell, a containerized 3D-printing drone factory that prints unmanned aerial systems in under 24 hours for forward-deployed military operations. Backed by Lockheed Martin Ventures, NEA, and In-Q-Tel. | San Diego, United States | Private | $142M |
| 36 | Starfish Space | Satellite servicing startup developing spacecraft that can rendezvous with, dock to, and reposition satellites in orbit. Executing orbital servicing missions and scaling production of service spacecraft to extend the life of space assets. | Kent, Washington, United States | Private | $138M |
| 37 | Performance Drone Works | Designer and manufacturer of modular military drones for defense and law enforcement. Founded by Special Operations veterans and elite drone pilots, PDW builds the C100 quadcopter, Attritable Munition strike drone, SIM flight simulator, and CORE mission planning software for contested environments. | Huntsville, Alabama, United States | Private | $135M |
| 38 | Terra Space | Long Beach-based space startup building satellite Earth observation constellation for climate monitoring. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $126M |
| 39 | Fern Space | Denver-based space startup building small-satellite ISR payloads for defense customers. | Denver, United States | Private | $124M |
| 40 | Vane Space | Long Beach-based space startup building small-satellite constellation for maritime AIS monitoring. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $122M |
| 41 | Otter Space | Long Beach-based space startup building small-satellite bus platforms for commercial imaging. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $122M |
| 42 | SendCutSend | Reno-based on-demand custom metal manufacturing (laser cutting, bending, machining) feeding AI data center racks, robotics, and aerospace components. Three US factories running 24/7. Bootstrapped to $200M ARR through 2024 before taking first institutional capital in May 2026. | Reno, United States | Private | $110M |
| 43 | Aster Space | Denver-based space startup building small-satellite manufacturing for LEO Earth observation constellations. | Denver, United States | Private | $107M |
| 44 | Scout AI | Sunnyvale, California defense-tech company building Fury, a foundation model for unmanned warfare that translates commander intent into coordinated autonomous actions across drone fleets. Founded 2024 to bring agentic AI to multi-domain unmanned operations. | Sunnyvale, United States | Private | $100M |
| 45 | Almond Space | Austin-based space startup building small-satellite ground station platforms for defense customers. | Austin, United States | Private | $98M |
| 46 | Star Catcher Industries | Jacksonville-based company building the first commercial in-orbit power grid: a constellation of satellites that harvest solar energy and beam it via optical lasers to other spacecraft. Claims up to 10x more power delivery to satellites without retrofitting hardware. Founded by ex-Made In Space CEO Andrew Rush. | Jacksonville, United States | Private | $77M |
| 47 | Sift | AI infrastructure platform for mission-critical hardware systems that transforms raw telemetry from satellites, drones, autonomous vehicles, and manufacturing equipment into structured, queryable data. Founded by former SpaceX engineers (Dragon flight software lead and Starlink Constellation Tools lead). Trusted by ULA, Astranis, K2 Space, and Parallel Systems. | El Segundo, United States | Private | $67M |
| 48 | Aetherflux | Space-based solar power company developing constellations of small satellites in low Earth orbit that collect solar energy and transmit it to ground stations via infrared lasers. Founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt. Also building Galactic Brain, an orbital data center project placing AI compute hardware next to solar power in space, targeting Q1 2027. | San Carlos, United States | Private | $60M |
| 49 | Air Space Intelligence | Air Space Intelligence builds AI-powered predictive decision-making platforms for aviation, air traffic management, and defense. Their Flyways AI platform helps airlines and government agencies predict operational conditions to optimize flights and reduce fuel consumption. Alaska Airlines reported 3-5% fuel savings using their tools, and the company has secured multiple U.S. Air Force contracts. | Boston, United States | Private | $56M |
| 50 | Alta Ares | Paris-based edge-AI air defense systems company. Two interceptors in development: X-Lock (short-range, anti-Shahed-136, 15km reach) and Black Bird (turbojet, anti-cruise-missile). Manufacturing in Ukraine. Offices in Toulouse, Kyiv, Abu Dhabi, Athens, NYC, Munich, and London. Founded 2024. | Paris, France | Private | $54M |
| 51 | LiveEO | Berlin AI-powered satellite geospatial intelligence platform monitoring critical infrastructure (power lines, railways, pipelines). Building a proprietary Twinspector satellite constellation delivering stereo imagery at up to 35cm resolution, expanding into defense and security. | Berlin, Germany | Private | $52M |
| 52 | Layup Parts | Huntington Beach-based software-driven custom carbon-fiber and fiberglass composite manufacturer. Compresses order-to-manufacture from weeks to hours, positioning itself as the 'Amazon of composites'. Founded 2024 by ex-Anduril composites engineer and ex-Boring Company first engineer Zack Eakin. | Huntington Beach, USA | Private | $51M |
| 53 | Unastella | Seoul-based small-satellite launch vehicle company with proprietary kerosene and liquid-oxygen engines. Flew UNA EXPRESS-I from Korean soil in May 2025; aiming for orbital plus eventual crewed sub-orbital flight. Founded 2022. | Seoul, South Korea | Private | $44M |
| 54 | Ember Space | Long Beach-based space startup building satellite payload integration services for LEO constellations. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $41M |
| 55 | Vega Space | Long Beach-based space startup building satellite propulsion systems for LEO constellation servicing. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $41M |
| 56 | Orbit Space | Long Beach-based space startup building small-satellite payload delivery for defense customers. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $41M |
| 57 | PAVE Space | Swiss space startup building orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) capable of transporting satellites from LEO to higher orbits in under 24 hours. Developing storable-bipropellant rocket engines. Has 8 reservation agreements with satellite operators. | Lausanne, Switzerland | Private | $40M |
| 58 | Beacon Space | El Segundo-based space startup building Series A for LEO satellite ground station networks. | El Segundo, United States | Private | $38M |
| 59 | Wren Space | Long Beach-based space startup building AI-native satellite tasking software for Earth observation constellations. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $36M |
| 60 | Momentus | Commercial space infrastructure company offering in-space transportation and last-mile delivery services for satellites using water plasma propulsion technology. Went public via SPAC merger in 2021, though the deal was marred by SEC enforcement actions over misleading disclosures related to its Russian-born founders. | Santa Clara, US | Public | $34M |
| 61 | D-Fend Solutions | Israel-based counter-drone company. Flagship EnforceAir uses radio-frequency takeover to seize control of rogue drones mid-flight and land them safely, rather than jamming or kinetic interdiction. Deployed in 30+ countries; 50%+ annual growth; 2026E revenue $185M. Acquired by Motorola Solutions for $1.5B on June 1, 2026. | Ra'anana, Israel | Acquired | $28M |
| 62 | Orbital Lasers | Japanese startup developing laser-based propulsion thrusters for small satellites and spacecraft. Technology enables precise orbital maneuverability without traditional chemical propellants. | Tokyo, Japan | Private | $20M |
| 63 | NewOrbit Space | UK-based developer of satellites for Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO, 200-300 km). Aerodynamic-drag-resistant spacecraft offer imagery '20x cheaper' than conventional satellites. First mission planned 2027, NEO Production Complex 2027, first commercial launch 2028. Founded 2021. | Cambridge, United Kingdom | Private | $19M |
| 64 | Vela Aerospace | Long Beach-based defense-space startup building small-satellite propulsion systems for LEO constellation servicing. Ships Vela-1 monopropellant thruster to Q1 2027 launch customers. | Long Beach, United States | Private | $15M |
| 65 | Meridian Space | El Segundo-based defense-space startup building small-satellite bus platforms for classified intelligence missions. Ships Meridian-1 bus to two DoD customers. | El Segundo, United States | Private | $12M |
| 66 | Talus Defense | Arlington-based defense-AI startup building electronic warfare and signal intelligence copilots for DoD analysts. | Arlington, United States | Private | $12M |
| 67 | SkyfireAI | Huntsville, Alabama AI-native platform for autonomous, coordinated multi-drone operations serving public safety, first responders, and defense customers. Formed by combining Skyfire Consulting and Echelon AI to bring autonomous fleet behavior to operational drones. | Huntsville, United States | Private | $11M |
| 68 | Sailfin Autonomy | Norfolk-based defense-maritime startup building autonomous surface vessel platforms for Navy port security. Backed by AUKUS defense sovereign fund. | Norfolk, United States | Private | $5M |