Venus Aerospace Raises $91 Million to Mature the World's First Flight-Proven High-Trust RDRE Into Full Propulsion Systems

Venus Aerospace, revolutionizing rocket engine propulsion, led by Sassie Duggleby, Andrew Duggleby, PhD, PE, and the team, has announced the close of a $91 million Series B financing led by Mercury Fund, a Houston-based venture capital firm, with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, PEAK6, Draper Associates, Starboard Star Venture Capital, Green Sands Equity, Seraph Group, Trousdale Ventures, and other new and existing strategic and institutional investors.

The funding will support Venus as it advances development and production of its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) propulsion system, moving from successful flight demonstrations toward deployment across defense and space applications. The company aims to address existing gaps in range, performance, and domestic production capabilities. The announcement follows the appointment of Pam Melroy to Venus’ board of directors.

Unlike conventional rocket engines, Venus’ Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) uses a continuous supersonic detonation wave to achieve higher efficiency. The architecture delivers a 15% efficiency advantage over existing flown rocket engine designs, enabling greater range, payload flexibility, and improved performance across defense and space missions.

Built with 3D-printed components and standard materials, the RDRE is designed for scalable domestic manufacturing while reducing dependence on constrained supply chains. The reusable and throttleable engine architecture is being developed as a common propulsion platform for applications spanning munitions, space launch, orbital transfer, and landers.

Demand for hypersonic and long-range capabilities is accelerating as the U.S. and its allies seek systems that can travel farther and faster than legacy platforms. Venus is developing its propulsion technology in Texas with American engineering talent to support customers requiring reliable, sovereign propulsion solutions for critical defense and space missions.

Sassie Duggleby said the financing will help move Venus from technology demonstration to scaled capability, advancing propulsion systems designed for greater range, reliable production, and trusted supply chains.

Blair Garrou highlighted Venus’ combination of frontier technologies, domestic manufacturing, and defense relevance, describing the company as well positioned to shape the future of defense and space systems.

Chris Moran noted Venus’ rapid technology progress and focus on manufacturing scale, cost efficiency, and reducing supply chain constraints for defense applications.

Andrew Duggleby said the funding will support the transition from successful flight demonstrations to deployable propulsion systems, with the RDRE architecture designed around efficiency, reusability, throttling, and scalable manufacturing.

Venus completed the world’s first flight test of a high-thrust Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) in May 2025, achieving the milestone in just over four years with $80 million in funding. The achievement represents one of the fastest and most capital-efficient engine development efforts in the industry.