AJ Piplica is building hypersonic aircraft (Hermeus)

Power Law with John Coogan

In this episode, I delve into the journey of A.J. Piplica, CEO of Hermeus, a hypersonic airplane company. A Star Trek-inspired fascination for aerospace, nurtured during his time studying at Georgia Tech and working at NASA, guided Piplica into his first professional role at Spaceworks Engineering. It was here he got an opportunity to lead Generation Orbit (GO), a subsidiary focusing on hypersonic aircraft.

Intriguingly, the seeds of Hermeus were sown at GO, where Piplica worked closely with Glenn Case, Skyler Shuford, and Mike Smayda, the future co-founders of Hermeus. They left the secure but limiting confines of GO to embark on a daring venture — Hermeus, betting on an audacious dream with six months of self-funded effort. Their journey involved facing skepticism, refining their business pitch, and navigating through a challenging investment landscape.

Their resilience paid off when Khosla Ventures, despite early setbacks, funded them to build a prototype engine. After demonstrating their technology's capabilities, the team managed to secure significant funding during a difficult pandemic-hit period, fuelled in part by contracts from the Air Force. The funding was used to build Chimera, their first full-scale engine capable of transitioning from an afterburning turbojet to a pure ramjet.

As Hermeus continues to grow, Piplica stresses the importance of hitting regular milestones, bridging funding gaps, and maintaining operations and growth. The process, he shares, involves a steep learning curve about government contracts, building lasting relationships, and responding promptly to shifting mission requirements. The vision is clear: to develop hypersonic technology that can cover large distances quickly, operate in contested environments, and rapidly adapt to changing mission needs.