Forbes has unveiled its 2023 list of companies that it expects to reach a $1 billion valuation.
One Atlanta startup — hypersonic jet maker Hermeus — is on the list.
Forbes partners with asset management firm TrueBridge Capital Partners to find 25 startups that have potential to become unicorns, or companies worth $1 billion or more. It chose the companies from 200 nominations. Now in its ninth year, Forbes said 120 of the 200 alumni have reached the milestone; 27 were acquired; and three went public for less than $1 billion. Five "imploded or shut down," according to Forbes.
"Given banking troubles, layoffs, skittish investors and compressed valuations, it has been a tough year to pick winners," Forbes staff said in the list announcement.
Hermeus is one of Atlanta's most ambitious startups. The company aims to build a hypersonic jet that could get passengers from New York to Paris in 90 minutes. The Mach 5 aircraft would fly at more than 3,000 miles per hour.
Hermeus has raised around $110 million in investments. It had an estimated $10 million in revenue in 2022, according to Forbes. Lead investors include Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, which is behind popular chatbot ChatGPT; Canaan Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on "transformative" companies and invested in electric scooter startup Bird; and early-stage VC firm Khosla Ventures, which invested in OpenAI among other brand-name tech companies.
Part of the reason Forbes chose Hermeus is because of its partnership with the U.S. military. It has a $60 million partnership with the U.S. Air Force for flight testing of its first aircraft, Quarterhorse, which aims to be the first in a line of autonomous, high-speed aircrafts, according to its website. Quarterhorse is set to achieve Mach 4+ speeds and fly in 2024.
Hermeus has also started work on Darkhorse, the next model in the series.
The ultimate goal is to create Halycon, a passenger aircraft that would fly five times faster than any plane today. The goal for that aircraft is 2029.
Hermeus was founded in 2018 by chief operating officer Skyler Shuford, CEO AJ Piplica, chief product officer Michael Smayda and chief technology officer Glenn Case. It has a manufacturing factory in Doraville to test its aircrafts.
In 2022, Atlanta Inno named Hermeus a Blazer winner in the Fire Awards.
Read Forbes' full list here.
