Hop Aero

Hop Aero, a logistics rocketry company, raised $11 million in seed funding to develop Rook, a 3D-printed autonomous cargo rocket that launches from a shipping container and delivers sensitive materials and drone swarms into contested environments hundreds of miles away in minutes. CEO Matija Milenovic emphasized that demonstrating working technology (e.g., hot-firing a custom-built engine) is far more persuasive to investors than renderings and pitch decks.