At the age of 19, Ethan Thornton founded Mach Industries to replace traditional ammunition with hydrogen-powered weapons. When he quit MIT, he secured $85 million from investors including Sequioa’s Shaun Maguire, who co-led a $5 million seed funding round, and Bedrock’s managing partner Geoff Lewis, who led a $79 Series A investment million. This gave the startup a valuation of $335 million.
Despite the funding, the company faced challenges. Former employees described a chaotic environment with safety issues and an inexperienced leadership style. Former program manager Eric McManus expressed concerns about quick funding without solid products, expressing his concerns to Forbes: “To get that much money so quickly, without a real product, without a flight test, without a demo? Nothing.”
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Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” nearly proved fatal for the then-teenage CEO. During a test, Thornton and an employee narrowly escaped a fatal accident when a hydrogen cannon exploded, spraying shrapnel across the area. Thornton was unharmed, but his colleague was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds all over his body.
Thornton’s ambitious projects included hydrogen-powered firearms and the “Prometheus” hydrogen generator, a mobile weapon that could be used on the battlefield. However, due to unforeseen cost issues and the lack of an economical way to produce aluminum fuel for hydrogen production, the project was later scrapped. This decision was made to ensure the company’s financial stability and to focus on other viable projects.
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Defense Tech Boom
Due to global tensions between the world’s superpowers, defense and military startups are new VC darlings. Mach Industries is a shining example of the fast-growing defense technology startup scene, which has attracted significant venture capital funding. According to PitchBook, a whopping $100 billion has been invested in the defense technology sector since 2020, highlighting the enormous potential and growth of this sector.
One of the key benefits that startups bring to the defense sector is agility and innovation. Unlike traditional defense contractors, startups can move faster and with less red tape. This flexibility allows them to develop and deploy new technologies faster, giving them a competitive advantage in an increasingly dynamic and unpredictable security environment.
Startups like Palmer Luckey’s Anduril Industries are scoring big contracts with the U.S. Air Force and other military branches, snapping them up from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other legacy military contractors. Luckey’s company has been tasked with creating autonomous fighter jets — a core part of the Air Force’s efforts to modernize its fleet.
As these new startups continue to attract investment and grow their market presence, they are poised to play an increasingly important role in meeting the evolving security challenges of the 21st century.
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This article Investors gave a teenager $85 million to build weapons – how did it go? originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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