Stellios Technologies Emerges from Stealth with $5M Pre-Seed Round to Rebuild America's High-Energy Power Industry

The company enters the market with $2 million in signed purchase orders amid growing demand for high-power microwave systems, directed energy, compact fusion, and next-generation propulsion.

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stellios Technologies, an American high-energy power systems company developing high-power microwave, directed-energy, compact-fusion, and advanced-propulsion technologies, today emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed $5 million pre-seed financing. The round included participation from Shervin Pishevar's Sofreh Capital, Wave Function Ventures, Cubit Capital, Mana Ventures, Atoms & Bits, Output Capital, Erik Bruckner, and other strategic investors.

"Stellios is on a mission to ensure that the United States dominates the next generation of high-energy power systems," said Dr. Richard Starson, founder and CEO of Stellios Technologies. "The ability to generate, deliver, and harness extreme levels of power will be critical to American technological and military leadership in the 21st century. From counter-drone defense and directed energy to advanced propulsion, compact fusion, and grid-scale power, the future will belong to nations that lead in power systems. Now is the time to rebuild that capability in America, addressing urgent defense needs today while laying the foundation for compact fusion and entirely new propulsion systems for supersonic, hypersonic, and space flight."

Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Round
Stellios secured $2 million in signed customer purchase orders before raising outside capital, and the round became oversubscribed and closed above its target within weeks. The company will use the funding to:

• Build and deliver its initial contracted high-power microwave systems
• Establish domestic R&D and pilot manufacturing facilities
• Expand its engineering and leadership teams
• Expand sales, support customer programs, and accelerate government business development
• Advance Stellios Genesis, the company's AI-native engineering and digital-twin platform, alongside early compact-fusion pathfinder research

"At Cubit Capital, we look for founders with firsthand knowledge of a critical problem, the technical experience to address it, and early customer traction," said Philip Carson, Partner at Cubit Capital. "Stellios brings all three. With signed customer purchase orders, ongoing defense customer discussions, and plans for US-based manufacturing, the company is building a commercially grounded business with the potential to strengthen American and allied defenses and lay the foundation for compact fusion power and advanced propulsion."

"The United States pioneered high-power microwave technology, and we must lead its next generation," said Dr. Edl Schamiloglu, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Mexico and advisor to Stellios. "Rebuilding this capability in America is critical to national security and industrial leadership. Stellios is combining advanced vacuum electronics, modern power systems, controls, and manufacturing to advance HPM today while laying the foundation for compact fusion power and fusion-powered propulsion."

Company Overview
Stellios was founded in 2026 by Dr. Starson, a Caltech Ph.D., with a team experienced in plasma physics, high-power microwave systems, and aerospace. Dr. Starson previously co-founded Escape Dynamics, a microwave-powered space launch company where members of the Stellios team designed and operated a 100 kW-class gyrotron, a high-power microwave source.

Stellios is designing and building the core hardware behind high-power microwave systems, including the vacuum-electronic devices and the high-voltage power generation, conditioning, and control systems that drive them. By combining this hardware with modern power electronics, software-defined controls, and AI-native engineering, the company aims to make these systems smaller, faster to develop, and less expensive than legacy designs. Stellios is advancing two core technology platforms:

High-Power Microwave Systems for Counter-Drone Defense and Industrial Use
Stellios' first commercial focus is developing MW-class high-power microwave systems for defense and industrial applications. In defense, these systems are designed for counter-electronics and counter-drone missions, where the proliferation of low-cost drones is driving demand for systems capable of engaging multiple targets rapidly and at a low cost per engagement. Industrial applications include geothermal drilling, advanced materials processing, and plasma heating for fusion research. Stellios designs and builds its systems in the United States to reduce dependence on constrained foreign and legacy supply chains and secure American leadership in HPM technology.

Compact Fusion for Energy and Propulsion
Stellios is also advancing a research program in compact aneutronic fusion. The program leverages many of the same core technologies and subsystems developed for Stellios' HPM systems, including advanced power electronics, magnets, vacuum systems, cooling, controls, and AI-native engineering. The company aims to develop fusion systems compact enough to power remote military bases and industrial sites with minimal need for refueling, and ultimately to enable long-range supersonic and hypersonic flight and rapid travel throughout the solar system.

About Stellios Technologies
Stellios Technologies is an American high-energy power systems company developing high-power microwave, vacuum-electronic, directed-energy, and compact fusion technologies. Founded in 2026 by Dr. Richard Starson, Stellios is building klystrons, gyrotrons, and integrated power systems for defense and industrial applications while advancing Stellios Core, its compact aneutronic fusion program. The company's mission is to secure American leadership in directed energy, fusion power, and advanced propulsion. For more information, visit https://www.stellios.io/ and follow the company on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Stellios Technologies