Top Venture Capital Firms in Aerospace
Aerospace has become one of the most capital-intensive corners of venture investing. The economics are different from software: hardware development cycles are long, regulatory hurdles are real, and the gap between a working prototype and a commercial product can run into hundreds of millions of dollars. That creates a specific selection problem for founders. Not every VC that lists "deep tech" or "defense" on its website has the patience or the portfolio structure to support an aerospace company from seed through a Series B. The firms that do tend to specialize openly, and the differences between them matter.
The directory above lists every VC firm in Private Equity List's database with a confirmed aerospace mandate. What it cannot do is tell you why 137 Ventures holds a meaningful position in SpaceX while AeroX Ventures is writing its first checks to pre-revenue startups, or why the right firm for a dual-use defense technology company might look very different from the right firm for an aviation services business. The entries below work through those distinctions, firm by firm, so you can use the filters above with a clearer sense of what you are actually looking for.
1. 137 Ventures
Founded in 2011, 137 Ventures has built its identity around a structural gap that most early-stage VCs ignore: the liquidity needs of employees at private, high-growth companies. While a typical VC fund buys new equity from the company itself, 137 Ventures buys shares directly from employees who want to convert some of their paper wealth into cash before an IPO or acquisition. That makes it a secondary buyer as much as a primary investor, and it gives the firm access to late-stage companies at valuations that are often better than what institutional investors pay in a formal fundraising round.
The firm's aerospace credentials are concrete. Its first SpaceX investment dates to 2011, the same year it was founded, and today it holds a position of more than one percent in SpaceX. Total assets under management (AUM, meaning the total value of capital the firm manages on behalf of its investors) now surpass $15 billion, with over $700 million raised across two recent funds. Managing Partner Justin Fishner-Wolfson has described the firm's approach as backing technology companies across their entire private growth lifecycle, which in practice means 137 Ventures can hold a position for many years without pressure to exit.
This is not a seed-stage fund. Founders raising their first round will not find a fit here. The firm is relevant to aerospace companies that are already scaling, have a meaningful employee base sitting on illiquid equity, or are looking for a growth-stage investor with demonstrated conviction in the sector. For those situations, the combination of secondary-market access and long holding periods is a meaningful structural advantage.
2. 8090 Industries
Three fully deployed funds and $1.382 billion in total AUM, reached by a firm founded in 2022, is an unusual trajectory. 8090 Industries was co-founded by Kerem Ozmen and Rayyan Islam with a focus on what the firm describes as the physical economy: aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and deep tech. The AUM figure as of August 2026 breaks down into $775 million in primary discretionary advisory assets and $607 million in other assets, which suggests a mix of direct investment and structured advisory relationships rather than a single pooled fund.
The firm has tracked more than 26 investments across 25 companies, a pace that reflects active deployment across a portfolio that spans multiple hard-tech verticals rather than concentrating narrowly in one. The founding year matters here: 8090 Industries reached significant scale very quickly, which tells you something about the demand for specialized aerospace and defense capital in the current environment, as well as the backgrounds of its founders.
Founders working in aerospace and defense, advanced manufacturing, or adjacent deep-tech sectors will find a firm that takes the physical complexity of their businesses seriously. The breadth of the mandate (spanning energy and infrastructure alongside aerospace) means this is not a single-thesis bet on one technology cycle. That breadth can be an advantage for companies that sit at the intersection of sectors, such as electric aviation or space-based infrastructure.
3. AeroX Ventures
AeroX Ventures is one of the few firms on this list with a fully public check-size range. For Fund I, the historical average was $500,000 to $1 million, with a ceiling of $3 million. That positions the firm squarely at the earliest institutional stage of aerospace and defense company-building, before most larger funds will engage. Fund I reached approximately $13 million deployed across roughly 13 companies out of a $15 million total capitalization, which implies an average position size consistent with the stated range.
Fund II is a material step up. The firm announced in 2026 that it is targeting $100 million in LP commitments (LP stands for limited partner, meaning the institutions or individuals whose capital a VC fund invests on behalf of). Seabury Capital Ventures is listed as an anchor investor, which brings credibility and a strategic network in aviation and aerospace services. A hundred-million-dollar fund writing checks in the $500,000 to $3 million range would imply a portfolio of 30 or more companies, so the pace of deployment would need to increase significantly if the check-size range stays constant.
For founders at the earliest stage of an aerospace or defense venture, AeroX Ventures is one of the few institutional options explicitly structured for that moment. The Fund II raise also suggests the firm expects to grow into later-stage participation over time, so companies that come in at seed could find a returning investor as they scale.
4. Acorn Capital Management
Acorn is not a venture capital firm in the conventional sense. It describes itself as a middle-market private equity firm, which means it typically invests in established businesses rather than early-stage startups. What makes it relevant here is the mandate: Acorn focuses exclusively on aerospace, defense, intelligence, and space, which is one of the narrowest sector concentrations in the market. It has operated from Oklahoma City since its founding in 2005, well outside the coastal tech clusters where most aerospace capital is concentrated.
The portfolio reflects that middle-market orientation. Sentry Aerospares, formed through the merger of Aerospares 2000 and Sentry in July 2022, is an MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) business, not a startup. Pan Am Flight Academy, acquired in February 2025, is a pilot training operation. These are businesses with revenue, customers, and operational complexity. Acorn Growth Fund V has $200 million in AUM, with an earlier fund (Growth Capital Fund IV) at $13 million, suggesting the firm has grown steadily over two decades.
If you are an aerospace or defense startup at the seed or Series A stage, Acorn is not the right call. But if you are running an established aerospace services business considering a growth equity investment or a strategic acquisition, the combination of exclusive sector focus and middle-market experience is genuinely differentiated.
5. ADIV - Aerospace & Defence Impact Ventures
ADIV launched in 2024 with a $50 million seed fund focused exclusively on next-generation aerospace and defense. It is headquartered in Tel Aviv and operates within the Starburst ecosystem. Starburst, founded in 2012, describes itself as a leading aerospace and defense innovation catalyst, with a global network of corporate partners and military stakeholders. ADIV's position inside that network means it brings more than capital to seed-stage companies; it offers access to an established set of industry relationships that most standalone seed funds cannot replicate.
The seed-stage focus at $50 million is a tight mandate. The fund is not attempting to cover every aerospace vertical or every geography. The Israeli base positions it well for dual-use technologies with both commercial and defense applications, a category where Israeli deep-tech has a strong track record.
For very early-stage aerospace or defense founders, particularly those developing dual-use technologies or with any connection to the Israeli or broader European defense ecosystem, ADIV offers a rare combination of institutional seed capital and a warm industry network.
6. AIN Ventures
AIN Ventures was founded in 2019 by Sherman Williams and Emily McMahan with a specific thesis that most aerospace-adjacent funds do not articulate this clearly: dual-use technology and military veteran-led startups. The dual-use framing means the fund looks for technologies with both commercial and defense applications, which is increasingly where the most interesting aerospace hardware and software companies sit. The veteran focus adds a second filter that is unusual at this stage of the market.
The fund raised over $5 million in 2024. That is a small fund by any measure, which means check sizes will be modest. AIN Ventures operates at the seed stage, and with a lean team of two to ten people, it does not have the operational bandwidth to support a large portfolio simultaneously.
The fund is best suited to founders who lead veteran-connected or dual-use ventures and who need a first institutional check rather than a large lead investor. The size of the fund is a constraint, but the specificity of the thesis is a feature for the right company.
7. 11.2 Capital
At approximately $99 million in AUM, 11.2 Capital is a San Francisco-based early-stage fund founded in 2013. The firm invests in early-stage technology startups, with Shelley Zhuang named as a key partner. The fund sits in a common size range for early-stage venture, large enough to write meaningful seed and Series A checks but without the scale to lead later growth rounds.
The firm's aerospace focus places it alongside other early-stage technology investors in the sector, but its San Francisco base and technology-first orientation suggest it is more likely to engage with software-heavy or platform-oriented aerospace businesses than with capital-intensive hardware-only ventures.
8. Aera VC
Aera VC was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Singapore, where it is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The founding partners include Derek Handley, and the firm operates with a team of 12 professionals. It invests at the early stage.
Singapore's position as a regional hub for aerospace manufacturing, MRO operations, and aviation services makes Aera VC a geographically relevant option for founders whose businesses have an Asia-Pacific dimension. Founders based in Southeast Asia or with regional expansion ambitions will find a local institutional anchor that most Western aerospace funds cannot offer. For founders based entirely in North America or Europe with no regional connection, the geography is a real constraint.
Let's Recap
The firms above cover a wider range of strategies than the shared "aerospace VC" label implies. At one end, 137 Ventures operates at enormous scale with a secondary-market structure that gives it access to late-stage companies like SpaceX. At the other, AIN Ventures is a small seed fund with a very specific thesis around veteran-led dual-use startups. Between those poles, you have middle-market private equity (Acorn), a corporate-ecosystem seed fund (ADIV inside Starburst), a Singapore-based early-stage fund (Aera VC), a fast-scaling multi-sector deep tech platform (8090 Industries), and two early-stage technology funds at different check-size ranges (11.2 Capital and AeroX Ventures).
The most useful distinctions for a founder or co-investor trying to narrow the list are stage, check size, and geography. A pre-revenue hardware startup needs a different set of conversations than a profitable MRO business exploring growth equity.
For practical targeting:
- Earliest-stage aerospace or defense startups seeking first institutional capital: AeroX Ventures, AIN Ventures
- Dual-use or defense technology with Israeli or European defense connections: ADIV
- Veteran-led or dual-use technology startups at seed: AIN Ventures
- Late-stage private aerospace companies or employee liquidity situations: 137 Ventures
- Established aerospace services businesses exploring growth equity or acquisition: Acorn Capital Management
- Multi-sector deep tech and aerospace ventures at growth stage: 8090 Industries
- Early-stage technology startups with an Asia-Pacific dimension: Aera VC
- Early-stage aerospace technology startups based in North America: 11.2 Capital, AeroX Ventures
Not every fund listed is still writing checks, so run the filters above to check status and fit before reaching out.
Private Equity List's API and MCP tools go a step further, letting you pull the full set of aerospace VC firms by stage, check size, and region, and dig into each fund's structure and backers.