LOS ANGELES, — Defense technology startup Furientis has secured its first funded government contract and raised $25 million in seed funding to accelerate development of a new interceptor system.
100-Mile Interceptor Contract
Furientis received a prototyping Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) from the Department of War to develop and demonstrate a 100-mile-range interceptor vehicle intended for homeland defense.
Under the agreement, the company will demonstrate the vehicle's performance against Department requirements. The contract value was not disclosed, while Furientis said the prototyping effort will run for roughly six months.
$25 Million Seed Funding
At the same time, Furientis closed a $25 million seed round led by Benchmark Capital. Benchmark General Partner Chetan Puttagunta is joining the company's board.
The round follows Furientis' $5 million pre-seed announced in May 2026. According to a person familiar with the financing, the seed round valued the company at about $125 million. The investment is Benchmark's first pure defense investment.
Focus on High-Rate Production
Furientis was founded in May 2025 by Brody Franzen, co-founder and CEO, and Aris Simsarian, co-founder and head of propulsion.
Franzen previously served as deputy chief engineer at Virgin Galactic and later worked at Castelion. Simsarian previously led rocket engine testing at Virgin Orbit and has experience building solid rocket motors.
Based in the Los Angeles area, Furientis is developing defensive munitions designed for high-volume, low-cost production. Its manufacturing targets include producing 1,000 vehicles per factory per year and completing final assembly of each vehicle in less than one hour.
The company uses commercial off-the-shelf components where they meet requirements and manufactures solid rocket motors and seekers in-house.
Testing and Manufacturing
Furientis said it has conducted 21 vehicle tests over roughly 10 months, including 13 flight tests and eight static fires. The company follows a biweekly prototype testing schedule and has an operational first propellant manufacturing facility supporting solid rocket motor production and testing.
Its test activities include launches at White Sands, New Mexico.
Furientis CEO Brody Franzen said the company was established to address a shortage of defensive munitions and described the challenge as fundamentally a production and manufacturing problem.
Benchmark General Partner Chetan Puttagunta said Furientis is developing technology designed to scale rapidly while keeping costs low, while highlighting the capabilities of its propulsion, hardware and software engineering team.
U.S. Defense Programs
Furientis has also been selected as a finalist in the U.S. Army's xTech|Apex Intercept competition, which focuses on low-cost interceptors that could operate alongside Patriot systems.
The company previously advanced as one of five finalists in a tactical missile challenge conducted by the Naval Postgraduate School and Office of Naval Research.
The new funding and government contract will support expanded manufacturing and testing capabilities, hiring and continued interceptor development. Furientis is currently hiring across engineering and other disciplines.
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