Hop Aero announces $11m seed financing led by Initialized Capital
The funding combines SAFEs raised before and during the company’s summer Y Combinator program.
Hop has hot-fired its engine and tested a roughly half-scale Rook prototype on the ground. It also deployed four drones from the prototype’s payload bay along a rail, demonstrating the release mechanism it is pitching to defense customers.
These tests cover propulsion and payload handling; they do not establish an untethered flight or a successful landing after reentry. Chief executive Matija Milenovic told Payload the first flight of the full-scale Rook 2 is planned for mid-2027.
What the funding supports
- Develop full-scale Rook 2 vehicle
- Expand test infrastructure at Oklahoma Spaceport
Hop Aero
An aerospace company developing autonomous point-to-point cargo rockets for urgent deliveries to remote locations, with propulsion and ground prototypes tested so far.
Company profile and funding history