Mach Industries Draws $100M to Scale Manufacturing and Expand Defense Tech Portfolio

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., June 17, 2025 — Mach Industries, a defense manufacturing startup founded just last year, has raised $100 million in new funding at a post-money valuation of $470 million. The round, led by Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures and Geoff Lewis of Bedrock Capital, brings the company’s total capital raised to about $185 million.

Sequoia Capital, which led Mach’s seed round in 2023, also joined the latest raise. The valuation marks a modest increase from the company’s previous post-money figure of $335 million, suggesting investor interest tempered by measured expectations.

Ethan Thornton, who launched the company at age 19 after leaving MIT, has overseen rapid expansion. Mach has grown from 20 to 140 employees in under a year. Ethan said the funds will support new research and development, including a propulsion system, and continued manufacturing scale-up.

“Weapons with the ability to carry out strikes at very long ranges, that’s the core idea,” Ethan said.

The company has already developed three weapons systems. Viper is a jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle that takes off vertically and requires no runway. Glide is a high-altitude glider capable of reaching targets from the edge of the atmosphere. Stratos, an airborne satellite platform, carries communications and sensor payloads at extreme altitudes.

Mach has secured several defense contracts and invested heavily in infrastructure. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army Applications Laboratory selected the company to develop a vertical takeoff precision cruise missile. It also announced its first manufacturing facility, a 115,000-square-foot factory in Huntington Beach.

Ethan recalled building the company’s first office in Cambridge, Mass., where he and co-founder Ashton Bennett assembled all the furniture themselves. “We went to Home Depot, bought a bunch of plywood, bought a bunch of 2x4s, and built all the furniture ourselves,” he said. “I would say we’re still equally scrappy, but now it’s very exciting to have a full factory and a team that’s equal parts industry veterans and new talent.”

He acknowledged the responsibility of building military systems at a time when AI and geopolitical risks are accelerating. Citing Ukraine’s use of autonomous drones, Ethan said Mach is designing systems for this new age of warfare at significantly lower cost than traditional defense contractors.

“The work we do is done in direct contact with the State Department, the Department of Defense, and members of Congress,” he said. “There’s a lot of oversight. That’s how it should be.”

Ethan said Mach’s long-term plans include expanding manufacturing capacity and hiring across engineering and operations roles. He declined to share details of future products in development.

I would say we’re still equally scrappy, but now it’s very, very exciting to have a full factory and a team.