Cargo delivery without a runway
Rook is designed to launch from a shipping container and deliver cargo to locations aircraft cannot readily reach. Hop Aero has hot-fired its engine, run a static fire with a smaller prototype and demonstrated a payload mechanism that releases drones. Those ground tests precede development of the full-scale Rook 2.
Moving to a full-scale vehicle
The $11 million financing combines capital raised before and during Y Combinator’s summer programme, using SAFEs that convert into equity later. Initialized Capital led the round. The company plans to develop Rook 2 and expand its Oklahoma test site, with a first flight targeted for mid-2027.