Defense tech company Mach Industries’ valuation has soared to $3.7 billion in a push to counter rising national security risks, especially those from China.
Mach said Sept. 10 it had received $600 million as in additional Series C financing, doubling the valuation in just three months for the Huntington Beach-based company.
“The last couple of years and likely at least the next decade in military technology will be defined by a competition with China, a competition the West cannot afford to lose,” CEO and founder Ethan Thornton told Silicon Valley Investclub. “China’s biggest advantage there is the scale of their manufacturing capacity. So, we look to basically go and create an offset to that.”
The funding is the latest sign of Orange
The funding is the latest sign of Orange County’s growing role in defense and aerospace.
That includes fast-charging Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa and Karman Space & Defense, also in Huntington Beach.
The list of Mach investors includes several top-of-the-line firms such as Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Infinite Capital and Bedrock Capital.
This investment allows us to continue expanding
“This investment allows us to continue expanding that capacity while moving new platforms from development into production faster,” Thornton said.
Mach offers an array of weapons, including the Viper attack drone, the Glide attack glider and Dart, a low-cost interceptor that can take down incoming hostile drones.
Mach operates a 115,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Surf City, with additional production infrastructure across the state.
The company reportedly may invest $74 million
The company reportedly may invest $74 million at Hillwood’s 310,036-square-foot Alliance Gateway 34, at 5000 Westport Parkway in Fort Worth, Texas to assemble unmanned aerial vehicles.
Thornton’s goal is to open several large facilities this year for a “combined production of about 10,000 units a month.”
Thornton, 22, founded the company while still a teenager.
Mach ranks No. 16 on the Business Journal’s annual list of aerospace and defense companies operating in Orange County, based on local employee count.
The company had 435 employees companywide
The company had 435 employees companywide as of June, with 400 in Orange County. As of Sept. 22, about 120 open positions are posted on the company’s website.
Mach’s weapons and defense systems are used by the U.S. Army, Air Force and Special Operations Command and allied governments, yet Thornton insists it’s still early days for his company.
In February, Torrance-based Divergent Technologies and Mach Industries announced a partnership to deliver Venom, an autonomous strike aircraft.
Mach said in May it had purchased rocket
Mach said in May it had purchased rocket propulsion firm Exquadrum for $50 million. Exquadrum operates out of a 70,000-square-foot facility in Victorville, California.
Jet Engines, Solid Rocket Motors
Through Mach Propulsion and Mach Energetics, Mach develops and produces jet engines, solid rocket motors and energetic systems. It serves external customers as a component and subsystem provider for booster, sustainer and unmanned aerial platforms.
Its products deliver the speed, adaptability and resilience needed to preserve the allied edge — a term that refers to ongoing efforts by the U.S. to maintain superiority over potential adversaries — in an increasingly contested world.
The company is a vertically integrated defense supplier,
The company is a vertically integrated defense supplier, developing technologies across airframes, jet engines, solid rocket motors, energetic systems, autonomy and advanced manufacturing.
Earlier this year, the company was selected as the aircraft integrator for the Defense Innovation Unit’s Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike program.
Under the contract, Mach is working with Whisper Aero of Nashville, Tennessee, to develop a fixed-wing airplane dubbed Atlas that takes off like a VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) from “ships and austere locations.” Long term, Thornton said the plane could have passenger applications for airlines.
Mach: The Heat is On for Defense Production
The U.S. war against Iran has underscored
The U.S. war against Iran has underscored the need for faster weapons production. Mach Industries is fully on board with the message.
“The need to build and field new defense technology faster has never been clearer,” the company says on its Linkedin.com site.
The message continues: “We’re rapidly scaling production across multiple platforms, strengthening critical areas of our supply chain, expanding our manufacturing, propulsion, and energetics capabilities, and growing an exceptional team to build the technology our country needs.
“We have an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen American manufacturing and put the technology needed to maintain a decisive advantage in the hands of the warfighter.”
