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* |
| 1 | Hadrian | 88.2 | 95.5 | 64 | 64.4 |
| 2 | Anduril Industries | 83.5 | 79.2 | 77.2 | 66.6 |
| 3 | Chaos | 82.5 | 80.5 | 68.4 | 69.3 |
| 4 | Boom Supersonic | 79.3 | 83.5 | 69.5 | 50.6 |
| 5 | Stoke Space | 77.8 | 76.5 | 70.3 | 58.4 |
| 6 | Castelion | 77.3 | 82.5 | 65.4 | 49.3 |
| 7 | Apex | 77.2 | 70.2 | 67 | 72.3 |
| 8 | Ursa Major | 77.1 | 74 | 70.2 | 61 |
| 8 | Cambium | 77.1 | 75.4 | 63.5 | 64.7 |
| 10 | K2 Space | 76.3 | 82.9 | 59.6 | 51 |
| 11 | Impulse Space | 74 | 67 | 69.3 | 64.6 |
| 12 | Infravision | 73.5 | 70.1 | 65.7 | 60.3 |
| 13 | Skyryse | 72.4 | 71.2 | 62.4 | 57.4 |
| 14 | Muon Space | 72.3 | 65.3 | 68.8 | 62.3 |
| 15 | Performance Drone Works | 71.7 | 67.8 | 63.4 | 60.4 |
| 16 | Varda | 71.2 | 66.1 | 65.3 | 60.5 |
| 17 | True Anomaly | 70.2 | 65.1 | 64.8 | 59.1 |
| 18 | Reflect Orbital | 69.8 | 52.6 | 84.9 | 62.6 |
| 19 | Arbor Energy | 68.7 | 66.1 | 59.3 | 57.3 |
| 20 | Firestorm | 68.5 | 58.1 | 66.9 | 65.1 |
| 21 | Starcloud | 67.5 | 47.6 | 71.3 | 77.9 |
| 22 | Xona | 67.1 | 61.9 | 63.2 | 55.9 |
| 23 | Vermeer | 67 | 58 | 60.5 | 66.3 |
| 24 | Amca | 66.8 | 57.9 | 62.9 | 63.3 |
| 25 | Reditus Space | 66.7 | 61.8 | 52.5 | 65.5 |
*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 January 2026 are Hadrian, Anduril Industries, and Chaos 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* |
| 1 | Hadrian | $608M | $131M | 12/30/2025 | 95.5 |
| 2 | Boom Supersonic | $732M | $300M | 12/9/2025 | 83.5 |
| 3 | K2 Space | $426M | $250M | 12/11/2025 | 82.9 |
| 4 | Castelion | $470M | $350M | 12/5/2025 | 82.5 |
| 5 | Chaos | $1.00B | $510M | 11/13/2025 | 80.5 |
| 6 | Anduril Industries | $6.25B | $30M | 12/16/2025 | 79.2 |
| 7 | Stoke Space | $1.05B | $510M | 10/8/2025 | 76.5 |
| 8 | Cambium | $121M | $94M | 12/3/2025 | 75.4 |
| 9 | Ursa Major | $434M | $100M | 11/18/2025 | 74 |
| 10 | Skyryse | $401M | $167M | 10/9/2025 | 71.2 |
*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, Hadrian leads the industry as it is the aerospace company with the highest total funding of $608M and has recently in the past two months received a funding amount of $131M.
- K2 Space is a rising company within the aerospace space that has been heavily funded in the past month. Their most recent funding amount was $250M 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 $6.25B.
1. Hadrian
GFD Funding Score*: 95.5
Total Funding Amount: $608M
Most Recent Funding Amount: $131M
Days Since Last Funding: 3
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Hadrian ranks #1 in funding. The company’s total funding is $608M and the last time they were funded was on December 30, 2025 for $131M. The last funding type was Series D. The total amount of lead investors that Hadrian has is 4 and their top investors are: Andreessen Horowitz, Caffeinated Capital, Village Global, Lux Capital, Founders Fund.
2. Boom Supersonic
GFD Funding Score*: 83.5
Total Funding Amount: $732M
Most Recent Funding Amount: $300M
Days Since Last Funding: 24
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Boom Supersonic ranks #2 in funding. The company’s total funding is $732M and the last time they were funded was on December 9, 2025 for $300M. The last funding type was Series B. The total amount of lead investors that Boom Supersonic has is 8 and their top investors are: Bessemer Venture Partners, Caffeinated Capital, 8VC, Y Combinator, Karman Ventures.
3. K2 Space
GFD Funding Score*: 82.9
Total Funding Amount: $426M
Most Recent Funding Amount: $250M
Days Since Last Funding: 22
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, K2 Space ranks #3 in funding. The company’s total funding is $426M and the last time they were funded was on December 11, 2025 for $250M. The last funding type was Series C. The total amount of lead investors that K2 Space has is 5 and their top investors are: Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint, Altimeter Capital, Alpine Space Ventures, First Round Capital.
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* |
| 1 | Reflect Orbital | 558K | 179K | 269.07% | 84.9 |
| 2 | Anduril Industries | 509K | 431K | -5.84% | 77.2 |
| 3 | SpaceX | 1.3M | 1.9M | -43.66% | 77 |
| 4 | Starcloud | 85K | 21K | 221.25% | 71.3 |
| 5 | Stoke Space | 26K | 34K | -5.27% | 70.3 |
| 6 | Ursa Major | 15K | 13K | 26.36% | 70.2 |
| 7 | Boom Supersonic | 59K | 79K | -39.52% | 69.5 |
| 7 | ZeroAvia | 22K | 14K | 3.82% | 69.5 |
| 9 | Impulse Space | 15K | 17K | 4.17% | 69.3 |
| 10 | Muon Space | 8K | 11K | 16.52% | 68.8 |
*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 1.9M 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 Reflect Orbital and Starcloud. Both companies have seen their website traffic increase by 221.00% over the last month.
1. Reflect Orbital
GFD Website Score*: 84.9
Last Month’s Total Visits: 558K
Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 179K
Monthly Visit Growth: 269.1%
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Reflect Orbital ranks #1 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 558K total visits and increased by 269.1% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 179K.
2. Anduril Industries
GFD Website Score*: 77.2
Last Month’s Total Visits: 509K
Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 431K
Monthly Visit Growth: -5.8%
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Anduril Industries ranks #2 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 509K total visits and decreased by -5.8% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 431K.
3. SpaceX
GFD Website Score*: 77
Last Month’s Total Visits: 1.3M
Monthly Average Visits Over 6 Months: 1.9M
Monthly Visit Growth: -43.7%
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, SpaceX ranks #3 in website traffic. Last month, the website saw 1.3M total visits and decreased by -43.7% from the month before that. The average visits over the past 6 months were 1.9M.
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* |
| 1 | Starcloud | 8K | 2K | + | 77.9 |
| 2 | Apex | 1.2M | 9K | + | 72.3 |
| 3 | Chaos | 673K | -3K | – | 69.3 |
| 4 | Grid Aero | 590 | 106 | + | 68.1 |
| 5 | Anduril Industries | 74K | 2K | + | 66.6 |
| 6 | Vermeer | 201K | -31 | – | 66.3 |
| 7 | Albedo | 246K | -2K | – | 65.9 |
| 8 | Reditus Space | 480 | 76 | + | 65.5 |
| 9 | Firestorm | 91K | 904 | + | 65.1 |
| 10 | Cambium | 50K | 1K | + | 64.7 |
*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 2K searches.
- Apex 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 Grid Aero according to their branded keyword search trends.
1. Starcloud
GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 77.9
Total Keyword Search Volume: 8K
Average Weekly Search Volume Change: 2K
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Starcloud ranks #1 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 8K. Over the course of the last year, the average monthly change for their branded keyword search volume was 2K, indicating an increase in their 1-year trend.
2. Apex
GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 72.3
Total Keyword Search Volume: 1.2M
Average Weekly Search Volume Change: 9K
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Apex ranks #2 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 9K, indicating an increase in their 1-year trend.
3. Chaos
GFD Branded Keyword Score*: 69.3
Total Keyword Search Volume: 673K
Average Weekly Search Volume Change: -3K
Out of our 60 ranked Aerospace companies, Chaos ranks #3 in branded keyword searches. Last month, their total branded keyword search volume was 673K. 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
- January 2nd, 2026: Monthly update.
- December 1st, 2025: Monthly update.
- November 1st, 2025: Monthly update.
