Castelion

Defense Tech · Hypersonics · Manufacturing

Funding

Castelion raises $1B Series C at $13B valuation for hypersonic missiles

Private equity and Wall Street banks are muscling into a defense-tech sector venture capital used to have largely to itself.

• Castelion closed a $1 billion Series C — $800 million in equity plus a $250 million revolving credit facility — at a $13 billion valuation, co-led by JPMorgan Chase's Strategic Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz, and Carlyle.
• Founded in 2022 by three former SpaceX executives, Castelion builds low-cost, mass-producible hypersonic strike missiles using a SpaceX-style vertically integrated manufacturing model.
• The round follows a $350 million Series B in December 2025 and ranks among the largest Series C financings ever raised by a US security company.
• Castelion has secured more than $500 million in US military contracts over the past 18 months, with its Blackbeard missile targeted for initial fielding in 2027.
• The company has already invested about $250 million building its 1,000-acre New Mexico campus, described as the largest dedicated hypersonic missile manufacturing facility in the US.
• Carlyle's aerospace and defense practice head Ian Fujiyama said the firm sees a multidecade need to rebuild manufacturing capability that has atrophied over the years.
• The deal shows traditional finance, not just venture capital, is now betting on new entrants to close the US hypersonic weapons gap with China's expanding arsenal.