Key facts
- Mach Industries' valuation doubled to $3.7 billion following a $600 million Series C extension round.
- The company's valuation was $1.8 billion after a $300 million Series C round in June.
- Mach Industries manufactures unmanned military vehicles and weapons, including drones and counter-drone systems.
- The startup acquired solid rocket motor startup Exquadrum for $50 million in May.
- Mach Industries was founded and is run by 22-year-old Ethan Thornton.
- Sequoia's Stephanie Zhan and Shaun Maguire are investors in Mach Industries.
Defense technology startup Mach Industries has secured $600 million in a Series C extension funding round, propelling its valuation to $3.7 billion, a doubling in just three months. The company previously announced a $300 million Series C round in June at a $1.8 billion valuation. Investors in both tranches include Ribbit Capital, Infinite Capital, Bedrock Capital, and Sequoia.
Mach Industries manufactures a range of unmanned military vehicles and weapons, including vertical takeoff and landing drones, long-range strike systems, and counter-drone systems. The company operates a 115,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Huntington Beach, California, with additional sites across the state.
Its core strategy involves building highly integrated systems at a lower cost than established defense contractors. To bolster its capabilities, Mach Industries acquired solid rocket motor (SRM) startup Exquadrum for $50 million in May, outbidding at least eight other potential buyers. This acquisition addressed a bottleneck in the SRM market, which is largely controlled by two incumbent suppliers, and formed the basis for Mach's new Mach Energetics business line, producing SRMs and jet engines.
Founded by 22-year-old Ethan Thornton, who dropped out of MIT at age 19, Mach Industries exemplifies the trend of Silicon Valley venture capital firms investing heavily in defense technology. Thornton's early investors include Sequoia's Stephanie Zhan and Shaun Maguire, marking Sequoia's first investment in the defense tech sector. The company also secured a U.S. Army contract earlier this year, attracting attention from Ribbit Capital, which has recently been active in AI-related investments.