Destinus
European defense company; lead/integrator of the Bliksem EXO exo-atmospheric interceptor consortium and maker of the Ruta cruise-missile family.
Destinus is building hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft for defense and commercial applications. The company's technology aims to enable Mach 5+ flight for rapid response, reconnaissance, and strike missions. Destinus has raised significant funding from European and institutional investors and is backed by the Swiss and French governments.
Overview
- Headquarters
- Payerne, Switzerland
- Founded
- 2021
- Employees
- 750
- Total funding
- ~€400M
- Valuation
- CHF 650M (~$732M, Nov 2024)
- Stage
- Series B
- Status
- active
- Domains
- Hypersonic flight, Hydrogen propulsion, High-speed defense
- X / Twitter
- x.com/destinus_eu
- Website
- destinus.com
Investors6
- FundOne Way VenturesVenture capital firm backing immigrant founders.
- FundQuiet CapitalTechnology-focused venture capital investment firm.
- FundLiquid2 VenturesSeed-stage venture capital firm.
- FundConny & Co.Early-stage venture capital investor.
- FundACE & CompanyPrivate equity and venture capital firm.
- FundCathexis VenturesEarly-stage venture capital firm.
Cap table0
Approximate ownership by holder. Indexed holders link to their records.
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Contracts0
No linked records yet.
Programs0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What does Destinus do?
- Destinus is building hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft for defense and commercial applications. The company's technology aims to enable Mach 5+ flight for rapid response, reconnaissance, and strike missions. Destinus has raised significant funding from European and institutional investors and is backed by the Swiss and French governments.
- Where is Destinus headquartered?
- Destinus is headquartered in Payerne, Switzerland and was founded in 2021.
- How much funding has Destinus raised?
- Destinus has raised ~€400M in disclosed funding, at a most recent valuation of CHF 650M (~$732M, Nov 2024).
- What does Destinus specialize in?
- Destinus works across Hypersonic flight, Hydrogen propulsion, High-speed defense.
Sources & citations7
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Destinus raised CHF 26.8M (~$29M) in a 2022 seed round from Conny & Co., One Way Ventures, Quiet Capital, Liquid2 Ventures, ACE & Company, and Cathexis Ventures
TechCrunch: Destinus plans to fly a hydrogen-powered, hypersonic cargo craft with $29M seed roundVerified2022-02-08 - 2
Destinus was valued at CHF 650M (~$732M) as of November 2024, and was in talks in 2026 to raise further pre-IPO funding
Bloomberg: Weapons Firm Destinus Seeks €200 Million in Pre-IPO FundingReported2026-05-15 - 3
Destinus's 2022 CHF 26.8M (~$29M) seed round included Conny & Co., ACE & Company, and Cathexis Ventures alongside One Way Ventures, Quiet Capital, and Liquid2 Ventures
TechCrunch: Destinus plans to fly a hydrogen-powered, hypersonic cargo craft with $29M seed roundVerified2022-02-08 - 4
Destinus serves as lead and system integrator of the Bliksem EXO consortium and develops the exo-atmospheric kill vehicle
Destinus: European defence companies sign Letter of Intent to establish the Bliksem EXO ConsortiumVerified2026-07-14 - 5
Rheinmetall and Destinus agreed to form the joint venture Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems (Rheinmetall 51%, Destinus 49%)
Rheinmetall: Rheinmetall and Destinus form joint venture for missile systemsVerified2026-04-13 - 6
Destinus was in talks in 2026 to raise ~€200M pre-IPO at a target valuation above €5B ahead of a possible Amsterdam IPO
Bloomberg: Weapons Firm Destinus Seeks €200 Million in Pre-IPO FundingReported2026-05-15 - 7
Founded 2021; dual HQ Zurich/Paris; hydrogen hypersonic aircraft developer
Wikipedia: DestinusVerified2026-08-15