Venus Aerospace

Stub active Updated Jul 8, 2026

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Location Houston, Texas
Founded 2020
Latest Stage Series B
Total Raised $130M+

Investors

Ben Kohlmann Series A-1 participation (2024)
cubit-capital Series A-1 participation (2024)

Founders

Sassie Duggleby CEO & Co-Founder
Andrew Duggleby CTO & Co-Founder

About

Venus Aerospace is a Houston-based propulsion company developing Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines (RDRE), a class of high-efficiency rocket propulsion originally targeted at hypersonic passenger jets 1. After a successful flight test of its RDRE in 2025, the company pivoted toward defense and space applications, aiming to replace traditional solid rocket motors in missiles and to power high-speed space vehicles for military customers 1. Venus was co-founded in 2020 by Sassie and Andrew Duggleby 1.

Disclaimer: This is a lean profile built from initial round coverage and may be expanded as more information becomes available.

Funding History

Date Round Amount Lead Co-investors
2026-07-08 Series B $90M Mercury Fund Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity 1

What Investors Say

No independently sourced investor commentary beyond the announcement available at this time.

What Founders Say

“What happened when we flew last May is the world looked at us and said, ‘oh my gosh, you have a working RDRE, would you sell us one?’” — Sassie Duggleby, CEO, Venus Aerospace, quoted in TechCrunch, July 8, 2026 1

Sources


  1. TechCrunch, “Venus Aerospace raises $90M Series B to build a new kind of rocket engine,” July 8, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/08/venus-aerospace-raises-90m-series-b-to-build-a-new-kind-of-rocket-engine/