Defense technology startup Castelion has raised more than $1 billion in a new funding round as it prepares to expand production of its Blackbeard hypersonic strike missile and develop a broader range of offensive and defensive weapons. The company said the round values it at $13 billion, four years after its founding.
The Series C round was announced on August 19 and includes $800 million in equity financing, along with a committed $250 million revolving credit facility. The round was led by JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz, and funds managed by Carlyle. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lavrock Ventures, Altimeter, General Catalyst, and Interlagos also participated, along with new investor T. Rowe Price Associates.
Expanding Blackbeard Production
Castelion plans to use the funding to expand Blackbeard production at its manufacturing complex in Sandoval County, New Mexico. It will also accelerate work on a long-range precision weapon and defensive systems designed for air and missile defense.
This comes as the U.S. Department of Defense pushes for the faster production of missiles and munitions in greater quantities. Recent conflicts have highlighted pressure on U.S. weapons stockpiles and manufacturing capacity, prompting the Department of Defense to seek new suppliers in a market long dominated by traditional defense companies.
Castelion was founded in 2022 by Bryon Hargis, Sean Pitt, and Andrew Kreitz, three former SpaceX executives whose experience spans national security satellites, launch sales, and finance. The company is attempting to apply elements of SpaceX’s development model to missile production, including vertical integration, repeated hardware testing, and designing products to support high-rate manufacturing.
Military Contracts and a Path to Service
Castelion said it has secured more than $500 million in U.S. military contracts over the past 18 months. The U.S. Navy is the company’s main customer so far; it awarded Castelion approximately $50 million in February to advance Blackbeard toward initial operational capability, followed by a contract worth nearly $105 million in April to integrate, test, and certify the weapon on F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets.
In June, the Navy issued a $23.4 million firm-fixed-price order to purchase 50 Blackbeard missiles in the pre-production phase, along with 50 shipping and storage containers. The U.S. Department of Defense also signed a framework agreement with the company in May envisioning a two-year production contract, with a minimum of 500 missiles annually after successful testing and validation.
What Changes in Practice?
Reports say the missile’s expected cost is approximately $384,000, compared with millions or tens of millions of dollars for some current U.S. hypersonic weapons. If Castelion can maintain this price at large-scale production, the financial barrier to purchasing larger numbers of these weapons could fall, changing the economics of long-range strikes.
But this promise has not yet been demonstrated at serial-production scale. Blackbeard still requires integration, flight testing, and certification before its targeted fielding in 2027, and the company must also demonstrate that it can maintain its stated production rates and costs after moving beyond the prototype phase. Castelion raised $350 million in Series B funding in December 2025.