Castelion, a defense-tech startup building low-cost hypersonic missiles, closed a $1 billion Series C on August 19, 2026, comprising $800 million in equity and a $250 million revolving credit facility. The round was co-led by JPMorgan Chase's Strategic Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz, and Carlyle, and values the four-year-old company at $13 billion.
The capital is earmarked for expanding manufacturing capacity at Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre facility in Sandoval County, New Mexico—the largest dedicated hypersonic missile manufacturing facility in the nation—and accelerating development of longer-range strike weapons and air-defense systems. Blackbeard, Castelion's first mass-producible hypersonic strike missile, is targeted for initial fielding in 2027.
The Pentagon contracted Castelion for a minimum 500 missiles annually once testing and validation are complete, and the company has already booked more than $500 million in military contracts over the past 18 months. Blackbeard is designed to cost roughly $384,000 per missile—orders of magnitude cheaper than legacy hypersonic programs.