Aerospace is a broad industry, encompassing commercial aviation, space, defense, communication, and supply chain. Some branches are hotter than others. With only 29% of companies saying they’ve solidified their future supply chain readiness, and low-earth satellite spending expected to jump ~25% from 2025 to 2026, the field looks to a couple of bright superstars to fuel growth.
Which startups are on the radar?
We put our heads together and refined metrics on aerospace companies that have received lots of funding and are funded in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. This ranking sheds light on the hottest aerospace companies and allows for clear comparisons with similar funding and business models. It also applies the power laws to funding and company concentration in this space.
Top 25 Aerospace Startups Ranking Table
We analyzed data from Crunchbase and Keywords Everywhere to uncover the top US aerospace companies with top investors from Silicon Valley.
| Ranking | Company | GFD Tech100 Final Score* | GFD Funding Score* | GFD Website Score* | GFD Branded Keyword Score* | Private or Public? |
| 1 | Chaos | 85.1 | 87.9 | 68 | 59.7 | Private |
| 2 | Anduril Industries | 83.2 | 80.4 | 77.2 | 58.5 | Private |
| 3 | Planet | 81.4 | 78.2 | 74.1 | 59.9 | Public |
| 4 | Joby Aviation | 81.3 | 82.5 | 67.1 | 57.8 | Private |
| 5 | Rocket Lab | 78.9 | 80.8 | 66.4 | 53.4 | Private |
| 6 | Ursa Major | 77.9 | 84.1 | 59.4 | 50.4 | Private |
| 7 | Apex | 77.6 | 75.2 | 65.3 | 61.1 | Private |
| 8 | Stoke Space | 77.2 | 81.2 | 62.1 | 50.6 | Private |
| 9 | Performance Drone Works | 76.1 | 79.7 | 57.5 | 54.6 | Public |
| 10 | Skyryse | 75.9 | 76.9 | 67.3 | 49.6 | Private |
| 11 | Infravision | 74.3 | 77.8 | 59.2 | 50 | Private |
| 12 | Hadrian | 73.5 | 71 | 65.3 | 54.8 | Private |
| 13 | Impulse Space | 72.2 | 71.5 | 64.2 | 50.2 | Private |
| 13 | Varda | 72.2 | 71 | 64 | 51.4 | Private |
| 15 | True Anomaly | 71.6 | 69.7 | 64.8 | 50.9 | Private |
| 16 | Firestorm | 70.4 | 64.6 | 65.7 | 56.2 | Private |
| 17 | Arbor Energy | 70.3 | 73.4 | 61.2 | 42.8 | Private |
| 18 | Vermeer | 70.2 | 66.9 | 59.7 | 56.8 | Private |
| 19 | Momentus | 70.1 | 67 | 61.9 | 53.9 | Private |
| 20 | Odys Aviation | 68.3 | 69.1 | 60.8 | 44.8 | Private |
| 20 | Starcloud | 68.3 | 55.4 | 64.2 | 68.5 | Private |
| 22 | K2 Space | 67.5 | 64.4 | 66.9 | 45 | Private |
| 23 | Hidden Level | 67.4 | 62.3 | 60.5 | 55.3 | Private |
| 24 | Xona | 66.7 | 67.5 | 54.5 | 48.5 | Private |
| 25 | Castelion | 66.6 | 62.4 | 67.7 | 45 | Private |
*GFD’s Tech100 score is a final composite score of the Funding Score, Website Score, and the Branded Keyword score.
Key Takeaways:
- The three hottest aerospace companies in October 2025 are Chaos, Anduril Industries, and Planet due to the volume and freshness of their funding, the recent performance of their website, and the growth trends of their branded keyword.
Ranking the Top Startups by Funding Score
Funding is huge. This breakout highlights those firms that have raised the most venture capital rounds, ranked by a combination of date and volume. Note we are also including post-IPO raises as well. These are worth considering because they’re all part of the competitive system that all aerospace startups are competing in.
| Ranking | Company | Total Funding Amount | Most Recent Funding Amount | Last Funding Date | GFD Funding Score* | Public or Private? |
| 1 | Chaos | $1.00B | $510M | 11/13/2025 | 87.9 | Private |
| 2 | Ursa Major | $434M | $100M | 11/18/2025 | 84.1 | Private |
| 3 | Joby Aviation | $3.02B | $591M | 10/7/2025 | 82.5 | Private |
| 4 | Stoke Space | $1.05B | $510M | 10/8/2025 | 81.2 | Private |
| 5 | Rocket Lab | $1.98B | $750M | 9/15/2025 | 80.8 | Private |
| 6 | Anduril Industries | $6.20B | $2.50B | 6/5/2025 | 80.4 | Private |
| 7 | Performance Drone Works | $44M | $35M | 11/20/2025 | 79.7 | Public |
| 8 | Planet | $1.03B | $460M | 9/9/2025 | 78.2 | Public |
| 9 | Infravision | $114M | $91M | 11/3/2025 | 77.8 | Private |
| 10 | Skyryse | $401M | $167M | 10/9/2025 | 76.9 | Private |
*GFD’s Funding Score captures funding volume and velocity by combing total funding with recent funding amount and recency.
Key Takeaways:
- When accounting for funding volume and freshness, Ursa Major leads the industry as it is the aerospace company with the highest total funding of $434M and has recently in the past two months received a funding amount of $100M.
- Performance Drone Works is a rising company within the aerospace space that has been heavily funded in the past month. Their most recent funding amount was $35M and this funding amount accounts for more than half of their total funds.
- Anduril Industries leads the aerospace industry with a total funding amount of $6.20B.
1. Chaos
GFD Funding Score*: 87.9
Total Funding Amount: $1.00B
Most Recent Funding Amount: $510M
Days Since Last Funding: 18
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Chaos ranks #1 in funding. The company’s total funding is $1.00B and the last time they were funded was on November 13, 2025 for $510M. The last funding type was Series D. The total amount of lead investors that Chaos has is 4 and their top investors are: Accel, Valor Equity Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Liquid 2 Ventures, 8VC.
2. Ursa Major
GFD Funding Score*: 84.1
Total Funding Amount: $434M
Most Recent Funding Amount: $100M
Days Since Last Funding: 13
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Ursa Major ranks #2 in funding. The company’s total funding is $434M and the last time they were funded was on November 18, 2025 for $100M. The last funding type was Series E. The total amount of lead investors that Ursa Major has is 6 and their top investors are: Alumni Ventures, BlackRock, Eclipse Ventures, Space Capital, Exor Ventures.
3. Joby Aviation
GFD Funding Score*: 82.5
Total Funding Amount: $3.02B
Most Recent Funding Amount: $591M
Days Since Last Funding: 55
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Joby Aviation ranks #3 in funding. The company’s total funding is $3.02B and the last time they were funded was on October 7, 2025 for $591M. The last funding type was Post-IPO Equity. The total amount of lead investors that Joby Aviation has is 8 and their top investors are: BlackRock, 8VC, Uber, Fidelity, Toyota Motor.
GFD Website Score Breakdown
Website traffic and traffic growth is important but doesn’t always line up perfectly with other attributes and events like funding. We were curious as to which of these companies saw the strongest website traffic and growth. The website score we captures the volume of recent website visits and combines it with the companies’ website growth trends.
| Ranking | Company | Last Month Total Visits | Average Visits (6 Months) | Monthly Visit Growth | GFD Website Score* | Private or Public? |
| 1 | SpaceX | 2.3M | 2.0M | 69.54% | 80.3 | Private |
| 2 | Anduril Industries | 541K | 436K | 71.61% | 77.2 | Private |
| 3 | Planet | 450K | 432K | 26.13% | 74.1 | Public |
| 4 | Reflect Orbital | 151K | 94K | 16.23% | 70.4 | Private |
| 5 | Epirus | 149K | 49K | 385.09% | 68.2 | Private |
| 6 | Chaos | 6K | 4K | 90.92% | 68 | Private |
| 7 | Air Space Intelligence | 9K | 5K | 73.73% | 67.8 | Private |
| 8 | Castelion | 9K | 6K | 70.48% | 67.7 | Private |
| 9 | Hermeus | 20K | 18K | 28.42% | 67.4 | Private |
| 10 | Skyryse | 6K | 4K | 74.55% | 67.3 | Private |
*GFD’s Website Score captures the volume of recent website visits and combines it with the companies’ website growth trends.
Key Takeaways:
- The aerospace company with the most average monthly website traffic over the last six months is SpaceX with 2.0M visits per month.
- Two aerospace industry leaders with the most average monthly website traffic volume over the last six months are SpaceX and Anduril Industries.
- Two companies in the aerospace space with fast growing websites over the past month are Epirus and Chaos. Both companies have seen their website traffic increase by 90.00% over the last month.
1. SpaceX
GFD Website Score*: 80.3
Last Month’s Total Visits: 2.3M
Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 2.0M
Monthly Visit Growth: 69.5%
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, SpaceX ranks #1 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 2.3M total visits and increased by 69.5% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 2.0M.
2. Anduril Industries
GFD Website Score*: 77.2
Last Month’s Total Visits: 541K
Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 436K
Monthly Visit Growth: 71.6%
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Anduril Industries ranks #2 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 541K total visits and increased by 71.6% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 436K.
3. Planet
GFD Website Score*: 74.1
Last Month’s Total Visits: 450K
Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 432K
Monthly Visit Growth: 26.1%
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Planet ranks #3 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 450K total visits and increased by 26.1% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 432K.
Aerospace Startups with Strongest Branded Search Growth
A great way to measure brand growth is by analyzing keyword growth for the company across a period of time. We sourced Google Search keyword data for companies on the list and ranked by a score that accounted for total keyword search as well as search volume change over the last year.
| Ranking | Company | Total Keyword Search Volume | Average Monthly Search Volume Change (1 Year) | 1 Year Trend Positive or Negative? | GFD Company Keyword Ranking* | Private or Public |
| 1 | Starcloud | 5K | 961 | + | 68.5 | Private |
| 2 | Apex | 1.0M | 11K | + | 61.1 | Private |
| 3 | Planet | 1.2M | -3K | – | 59.9 | Public |
| 4 | Chaos | 673K | 5K | + | 59.7 | Private |
| 5 | Anduril Industries | 74K | 3K | + | 58.5 | Private |
| 6 | LeoLabs | 10K | 746 | + | 58.2 | Public |
| 7 | Joby Aviation | 91K | 3K | + | 57.8 | Private |
| 8 | Vermeer | 201K | 1K | + | 56.8 | Private |
| 9 | Firestorm | 91K | 2K | + | 56.2 | Private |
| 10 | Muon Space | 5K | 373 | + | 56.1 | Private |
*GFD’s Branded Keyword Ranking is a metric that combines monthly branded keyword search volume with a 1-year linear trend that is observed weekly and adjusted by search volume.
Key Takeaways:
- Starcloud is the fastest growing branded keyword in the aerospace industry. It has an average monthly increase of about 961 searches.
- Planet is the company among the top ten companies for branded keyword search for aerospace that has the most volume. It has a search volume of 1.2M searches.
- Two fast rising companies in the aerospace space are Starcloud and LeoLabs according to their branded keyword search trends.
1. Starcloud
GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 68.5
Total Keyword Search Volume: 5K
Average Weekly Search Volume Change: 961
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Starcloud ranks #1 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 5K. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was 961, indicating an increase in their 1-year trend.
2. Apex
GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 61.1
Total Keyword Search Volume: 1.0M
Average Weekly Search Volume Change: 11K
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Apex ranks #2 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 1.0M. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was 11K, indicating an increase in their 1-year trend.
3. Planet
GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 59.9
Total Keyword Search Volume: 1.2M
Average Weekly Search Volume Change: -3K
Out of our 50 ranked Aerospace companies, Planet ranks #3 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 1.2M. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was -3K, indicating a decrease in their 1-year trend.
Methodology and Sources
- Methodology: We collected data for 10k+ companies from Crunchbase and aggregated it into a set of scores through the use of quantitative transformations and expertly curated weighted averages.
- Sources: Crunchbase and Google Trends
Udpate Log
- December 1st, 2025: Monthly update.
- November 1st, 2025: Monthly update.
