Hybron, an El Segundo, California-based manufacturer of advanced carbon fiber composites, has raised $25M in an oversubscribed seed round led by Marque Ventures. The company produces composites up to 100x faster and 5x cheaper than legacy methods, enabling complex geometries 3x lighter than titanium. The capital will scale manufacturing capacity and execute U.S. and allied defense programs.
Defense Manufacturing Funding Surges
The raise aligns with heightened investor interest in domestic composites production. Cambium raised $100M+ in Series B funding in 2026, while Continuous Composites secured $17M previously per Crunchbase. Perseus Materials drew Lockheed Martin investment for moldless composites this year. Hybron's focus on ultra-fast scalable production differentiates it by replacing adversary-dependent metals.
Adversary Metals Strangle Supply Chains
Russia and China control critical metals like titanium and manganese needed for munitions and aircraft. Traditional composites manufacturing remains slow and capital-intensive, limiting scalability for defense needs. Hybron's U.S.-only process eliminates these vulnerabilities, supporting reshoring amid geopolitical tensions.
100x Faster Composites Transform Defense
Hybron's proprietary hybrid chopped-fiber technology produces artillery shells 30x faster with 4x lethality and 40x less capital intensity. It manufactured the world's first composite compressor blades proven in a fighter jet engine (GE J79), offering 2x strength over traditional composites. Gas turbine blades and UAV airframes follow, all corrosion-resistant for naval use.
As Brennan Lieu, co-founder and CEO, noted:
"Modern aerospace and defence systems are still built around manufacturing processes that haven’t fundamentally changed in decades. Our goal is to make advanced composites manufacturable at industrial scale so critical systems can be built faster, lighter and more efficiently."
Veteran VCs Signal Strategic Bet
Marque Ventures led with participation from First In, DTX Ventures, Veteran Ventures Capital, Ultratech Capital Partners, and Bravo Victor. These firms specialize in defense hardware and sovereignty tech, with portfolios like Mach Industries and Cambium Biomaterials. Their involvement validates Hybron's path to DoD contracts and industrial scaling.
Steve Kiser, General Partner at Veteran Ventures Capital, said:
"Defense readiness increasingly depends on how quickly we can scale manufacturing… Hybron is exactly that kind of company."
Aerospace Composites Market Expands
The advanced composites market stands at $54B with 10.4% CAGR, driven by lightweighting in aerospace and defense. Aerospace composites specifically grow from $27.5B in 2024 to $53.4B by 2030 at 12% CAGR. DoD initiatives like America Makes' $14.5M funding calls accelerate qualification of domestic processes.
Founders From Garage to Forbes List
Co-founders Brennan Lieu (CEO, Stanford) and Aaron Guo (CTO, UC Berkeley, ex-Boeing/Moog) started Hybron in a garage, earning Forbes 30 Under 30 in Transportation/Aerospace. Former Northrop Grumman CTO Craig Ellis joined the team. Their military family backgrounds and rapid facility scaling—from empty warehouse to R&D center in one year—underscore execution speed.
Scaling for Munitions and Engines
Funds target manufacturing expansion amid hiring for composites R&D and full-stack engineering. Recent prototypes include 155mm shells briefed to Danish MoD and naval components. Hybron eyes DoD and NATO programs, building on NavalX accelerator wins and pre-orders exceeding $120M.