New Delhi: Breaking the pattern of Silicon Valley investors, Sequoia made the first defence tech investment in Mach Industries. Mach Industries was founded by MIT dropout and Thiel Fellow Ethan Thornton in 2022, which focuses on building a hardware solution using field-sourced hydrogen creation and combustion techniques.

In a seed round led by Sequoia Capital, Defence startup Mach Industries raised $5.7 million. This is the first-ever defence tech investment in the venture capital giant’s history. The Silicon Valley investors have been reluctant to invest in defence technology, largely due to profitability and reputation concerns over how the technology will be used during the global conflict in which the military gets involved. Sequoia’s funding in defence technology projects the latest interest from Silicon Valley investors in defence and aerospace.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Mach Industries is working to develop a weapon system that uses the chemical reaction of oxygen and hydrogen to create a powerful explosion that could fuel unmanned aerial vehicles and aerial protection devices. The funding will be used for product development, hiring talent, and building out facilities, said the company.

“We’ve built out facilities in Boston and Austin and are now moving towards production. We are looking to have deployed systems within the next year,” said Ethan Thornton to an media outlet. He also clarified that the company already works with the Pentagon on research.

It is expected that the defence tech market will witness the surge and reach $184.7 billion by 2027. The US government’s growing demand for innovative technologies to meet its national security goals has been the key driver for the growth of defence sector.