Venus Aerospace Raises $91 Million to Scale RDRE Technology

Venus Aerospace raised between $90 million and $91 million in a Series B financing round anchored by Mercury Fund and Lockheed Martin Ventures. The Houston-based company intends to use the capital to scale its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), transitioning the technology from a functioning prototype into a reliable propulsion system for operational use.

Following the first RDRE-powered flight from U.S. soil in May 2025, the company is pivoting its strategic focus. While originally aimed at passenger hypersonic jets, the company is now prioritizing hypersonic weapons development, military high-speed space vehicles, and orbital transfer vehicles. The RDRE technology utilizes a circular channel to generate a continuous supersonic combustion wave, which provides higher pressure and thrust with greater fuel efficiency than conventional engines.

To meet customer demands for longer burn times, the company is constructing a larger test stand funded by a grant from the Texas Space Commission. The leadership team emphasizes that the propulsion architecture is designed for scale and manufacturability to support real defense and space missions.