Astro Mechanica

Supersonics for the new Jet Age

astromecha.co

HQ: San Francisco, CA, USA

51-200

Industrials

Company research

Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals

Updated Aug 2, 2026

Overview

Astro Mechanica is a San Francisco aerospace startup, founded in 2021, building vertically integrated high-speed flight systems—engines, airframes, and flight systems—for military, orbital-launch, cargo, and eventual commercial supersonic use. Its stated mission is to make high-speed flight more efficient, accessible, and sustainable [Astro Mechanica; United Airlines Ventures].

Primary product

Duality™: a hybrid-electric/electric combined-cycle adaptive jet engine designed to operate efficiently from takeoff through Mach 3+, with turbofan-like, turbojet-like, and ramjet-like operating modes [Y Combinator; United Airlines Ventures].

Founded

2021

Headquarters

San Francisco, California, United States

Team size

40–52; LinkedIn/company data reported 42 in June/July 2026, while Y Combinator reports 52

Work style

Onsite

Industry

Aviation & Aerospace

Sub-industry

Supersonic aircraft, adaptive propulsion, aerospace/defense technology

Offices

San Francisco, California (HQ; 19 Butte Place, San Francisco, CA 94103)

Business model

Defense and government technology development/contracts

Sale or licensing of propulsion systems

Vertically integrated aircraft and engine development

Future commercial supersonic transportation

Potential distributed-power/data-center applications

Funding

Stage

Series A / growth-stage aerospace startup; reportedly raising a $250M Series B as of 2026-07-15, not confirmed closed

Total raised

$54.7M

Latest round

Venture Round / United Airlines Ventures investment · Aug 2025

Series B (reported raise in progress)

Jul 2026

$250M

Venture Round / United Airlines Ventures investment

Aug 2025 · United Airlines Ventures

Series A

Apr 2025 · Andreessen Horowitz, Lowercarbon Capital, and Giant Step Capital (co-led/reported)

$27.1M

Seed / Y Combinator

Feb 2024 · Y Combinator

$500K

Seed

Feb 2024 · Y Combinator

$500K

People & investors

Leadership

Ian Brooke

CEO & Founder

Ashley Pelzel

Chief Operating Officer

Matthew Perkins

VP of Engineering; previously Director of Electrical & Software Engineering

Richard Brisbin

Vice President, Defense Systems; CEO, Astro Mechanica Federal Corporation

Kevin Hobson

General Counsel

Patrick McGuire

Director of Propulsion

Michael Keefe

Mission Systems Lead

Andrew Van Timmeren

Senior Vice President of Revenue (joined June 2026)

Investors

Alumni Ventures

Andreessen Horowitz

Dolby Family Ventures

United Airlines Ventures

Voyager Ventures

Y Combinator

Work & culture

The company describes itself as a flat engineering organization of passionate engineers and generalists with specialist depth. It emphasizes moving fast, pragmatic execution, continuous design/build/test, and engineering excellence over hierarchy [Astro Mechanica Careers]. A job posting says in-office work five days per week is considered essential for collaboration.

Work style

Onsite

Compensation

Public job-posting signals include approximately $135,000–$170,000 annual base salary for a Mechanical Systems Design Engineer, plus equity/stock options and benefits. Sponsorship evidence is conflicting or not clearly attributable to Astro Mechanica, so no definitive sponsorship claim is made.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Flexible spending accounts

401(k)

Equity/stock options

Self-managed flexible time off/PTO

Paid holidays and sick time

Product & market

Pricing

Not publicly standardized. Management has indicated a Mach-plus engine could cost in the low single-digit millions and an aircraft using it roughly $15M–$50M depending on capability; these are indicative target economics, not a published price list.

Differentiators

—Adaptive propulsion intended to remain efficient from takeoff through supersonic speeds
—Hybrid-electric architecture separates propulsion units from the turboshaft through electric motors
—Vertically integrated engine, airframe, and flight-systems approach
—Dual-use military and commercial roadmap
—Targeted transpacific range and lower operating-cost/economic barriers for supersonic travel

Technology

Duality hybrid-electric/electric combined-cycle propulsion

Turbofan, turbojet, and ramjet operating modes

Python

MATLAB

SolidWorks

Siemens NX

CATIA

ANSYS

Simcenter

LabVIEW

React

GCC

Linux

Fortran

Jira

Azure

SysML

Customers

U.S. Air Force / Collaborative Combat Aircraft-related government work

Air Force Research Laboratory (reported engagement/conversation)

INDOPACOM and Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (reported discussions)

Competitors

Boom Supersonic

Hermeus

Spike Aerospace

Otto Aerospace

VerdeGo Aero

MTU Aero Engines

Specter Aerospace

Scale & contact

info@astromecha.co

Latest news

Astro Mechanica raising $250M to power data centers with jet engines

Axios Pro · Jul 2026

Reported that Astro Mechanica was raising a $250M Series B and considering turboelectric engines for data-center power; the round was not verified as closed.

Startup’s Supersonic Electric Jet Engine Heads To Altitude Testing

Aviation Week · Jan 2026

Reported planned high-altitude/high-speed ground testing, a 2027 testbed-aircraft flight, and a later development phase.

Astro Mechanica Partners with Helix to Develop Hybrid Supersonic Engines

ePlane AI · Dec 2025

Covers a partnership with Helix to develop the Duality hybrid supersonic engine and discusses technical details and prototype progress.

United Airlines Ventures Invests in Aerospace Startup Astro Mechanica

PR Newswire / United Airlines Ventures · Aug 2025

United Airlines Ventures announced an investment in Astro Mechanica, describing the company’s adaptive propulsion concept and its strategic applications.

United Airlines Ventures Invests in Aerospace Startup Astro Mechanica

United Airlines Ventures / PR Newswire · Aug 2025

Announced UAV’s investment and described Duality’s hybrid-electric architecture and military, orbital-launch, cargo, and commercial applications.

Jobs and careers at Astro Mechanica

46 jobs at Astro Mechanica

Senior Electrical Engineer, Power Systems

On-site

Ground Power

San Francisco; San Francisco, California, United States

1w ago

On-site

Full-time