Rising star defense tech startup Mach Industries is raising $100 million, sources say

Mach Industries, the defense tech founded by 21-year-old Ethan Thornton, is about to close a fresh $100 million in financing co-led by new investor Khosla and existing investor Bedrock Capital, a source familiar with the deal tells TechCrunch.

The new round will value the company at around $470 million, according to the source. However, the deal hasn’t closed and terms may still change. The Khosla investor leading the deal is Keith Rabois.

Mach Industries is a buzzy defense tech startup, a status propelled by its founding origin story and connection to Sequoia. Thornton was just a teenager when he dropped out of MIT to found Mach Industries, which was Sequoia’s first defense tech investment.

Mach is developing vertical liftoff vehicles and weapons that can work from the edge of space. It is also developing smaller factories that can be easily built and distributed when more production is needed.

In March, Mach announced it was selected by the Army Applications Laboratory to develop a vertical takeoff precision cruise missile it calls “Strategic Strike.” It also announced plans for its first factory, a 115,000-square foot-facility in Huntington Beach, California.

This new funding should bring the startup’s total funding to about $185 million, to date. Sequoia led Mach’s $5.7 million seed round, which was announced in June 2023. Geoff Lewis, founder of Bedrock Capital, led Mach’s $79 million Series A round a few months later.