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§ Private Profile · Houston, TX, USA
Venus Aerospace is a technology company.
Venus Aerospace is developing advanced propulsion systems engineered to enable sustained, efficient high-speed flight. The company focuses on its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) and Detonation Ramjet (VDR) technologies, which promise enhanced efficiency, scalability, and performance for various demanding applications. These innovations are designed to unlock next-generation capabilities for both space and atmospheric flight.
The company was co-founded in 2020 by Sassie Duggleby, serving as CEO, and Andrew Duggleby, PhD, PE, who leads as CTO. Both founders brought significant prior experience from executive roles at Virgin Orbit, leveraging their insights into propulsion and launch systems. Their shared vision centered on the necessity for disruptive engine technology capable of vastly improving the economics and feasibility of hypersonic travel.
Venus Aerospace targets customers within both defense and emerging commercial high-speed aviation sectors. The company’s long-term vision is to revolutionize air travel by providing the foundational technology for efficient and affordable hypersonic flight. They aim to transform the accessibility and operational capabilities of very high-speed aerospace, from ground-based operations to sustained cruise.
Venus Aerospace has raised $39.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Venus Aerospace has raised $39.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Venus Aerospace is a Houston-based aerospace startup founded in 2020, developing breakthrough hypersonic propulsion technologies to enable one-hour global travel.[3][1][4] The company builds the Venus Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) and Venus Detonation Ramjet (VDR), which power reusable spaceplanes and hyperjets capable of Mach 9-15 speeds, serving commercial passengers, defense applications, and space missions by solving the inefficiencies of traditional jet engines through superior fuel efficiency (up to 67% propellant reduction) and engine cooling.[1][2][4] With a $10B+ total addressable market in hypersonics projected to reach $12.92B by 2031, Venus demonstrates strong growth via engine hotfire tests, the world's first high-thrust RDRE flight, SBIR Phase II funding from the U.S. Air Force, and backing from investors like Alumni Ventures and Praxis.[1][2][5]
Venus Aerospace was co-founded in 2020 by Sassie Duggleby (CEO) and Andrew Duggleby (CTO), a husband-wife team of seasoned space engineers who previously collaborated at Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic.[1][3][5] Sassie, with a background in launch systems engineering, mission management, and executive roles in biotech and manufacturing startups (B.S. Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M, MBA from Virginia Tech), identified a market gap in high-speed global travel after recognizing that jet turbines hit temperature limits, necessitating rocket engines for hypersonic speeds.[3][5] Andrew, holding a PhD and PE, led launch operations at Virgin Orbit, including NASA-partnered 3D-printed rocket engines.[5] The idea emerged from commercializing academic RDRE technology, pulled into practical use with external funding; early traction included daily engine firings at Houston Spaceport, SBIR contracts for defense hypersonic flight, and team assembly from NASA, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Moog experts.[1][2][3][5]
Venus rides the hypersonic revolution, blending space tech (rockets) with aviation to shrink global travel times 15x, fueled by defense needs (U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command) and commercial demand for efficient, point-to-point flights.[1][2] Timing aligns with maturing RDRE from academia to flight-proven status, regulatory support from FAA (starting with drones), and a $12.92B market by 2031 amid rising geopolitical tensions and post-pandemic connectivity needs.[1][3] Market forces like reusable rocketry (SpaceX influence) and SBIR/NASA funding favor Venus, positioning it to influence ecosystems via tech licensing for space landers, drones, and high-speed infrastructure, potentially redefining "home for dinner" global mobility.[2][4][7]
Venus Aerospace is primed for scale with proven RDRE flights, defense contracts, and commercial prototypes, targeting drone validations then passenger hyperjets amid falling launch costs and hypersonic arms races.[2][3][4] Trends like AI-optimized manufacturing, international airspace deregulation, and dual-use space-defense convergence will accelerate adoption, evolving Venus from engine innovator to ecosystem leader in hourly global travel. This positions them to capture a slice of the $10B+ market, transforming aerospace like SpaceX did for orbits—making super-fast trips as routine as today's jets.[1][4]
Venus Aerospace has raised $39.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Venus Aerospace's investors include Alumni Ventures, Wildcat Ventures, Brandon Simmons, Liz Stein, Aster Capital, Bascom Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, Boost VC, Combustion Ventures, Cubit Capital, Infinite Capital, InterWest.
Venus Aerospace has raised $39.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $16.0M Series U in June 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2023 | $16M Series U | — | Alumni Ventures, Wildcat Ventures | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2022 | $20M Series A | Brandon Simmons, LIZ Stein | Aster Capital, Bascom Ventures, BlueRun Ventures, Boost VC, Combustion Ventures, Cubit Capital, Infinite Capital, InterWest, Lerer Hippeau, Liquid 2 Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, LombardStreet Ventures, Metaplanet, Multicoin Capital, NextGen Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, Princeville Capital, Samsung Next Ventures, Vivek Garipalli, Eric Ries, Cantos, Draper Associates, Saturn Five, Seraph Group, Tamarack Global, The Helm | Announced |
| Jan 1, 2021 | $3M Seed | Brandon L. Simmons | 20VC, AngelList Syndicator, Antler, Felix Capital, True Ventures, Chris Murphy, Darius Contractor, JAN Deepen, Jeremy YAP, Pete Koomen, Stefan Jeschonnek, Boost VC, Draper Associates, Saturn Five, XFactor Ventures | Announced |