Austin-based Stellios Technologies has emerged from stealth with $5 million in oversubscribed pre-seed financing to develop high-power microwave and advanced energy systems.
The round included Sofreh Capital, Wave Function Ventures, Cubit Capital, Mana Ventures, Atoms & Bits, Output Capital, Erik Bruckner and other strategic investors.
Founded in 2026 by Dr. Richard Starson, Stellios is targeting a specialized segment of the defense and industrial technology market: systems capable of generating and controlling extremely high levels of electrical and microwave power.
Starson holds a PhD from Caltech and previously co-founded Escape Dynamics, a company exploring microwave-powered spacecraft propulsion. Members of the Stellios team previously designed and operated high-power microwave equipment, including a 100-kilowatt-class gyrotron.
Unlike companies developing finished drone-defense systems, Stellios is concentrating on the underlying power-generation hardware.
Its products include vacuum-electronic components such as klystrons and gyrotrons, alongside high-voltage power conditioning, control and delivery systems.
High-power microwave technology has applications in counter-drone defense, where directed electromagnetic energy can interfere with electronic systems. Industrial applications include advanced materials processing, geothermal drilling and plasma heating.
Stellios is initially focused on developing megawatt-class microwave systems for defense and industrial customers.
The company says it secured approximately $2 million in signed customer purchase orders before raising outside capital, providing an early indication of demand. Purchase orders, however, should not be confused with delivered systems or recognized revenue.
The new financing will fund initial customer deliveries, domestic research and manufacturing facilities, engineering recruitment and government business development.
Stellios is also developing Genesis, an AI-native engineering and digital-twin platform intended to accelerate the design and validation of complex power systems.
Its longer-term research program extends into compact fusion and advanced propulsion. The company is exploring how technologies developed for microwave systems could also support fusion power generation.
That work remains an early research effort rather than an established commercial product.
The near-term opportunity is driven by defense demand for systems capable of countering inexpensive drones without relying exclusively on costly interceptor missiles.
Building the underlying power infrastructure could also give Stellios exposure to several industrial markets rather than depending on a single military application.
However, the technical and commercial barriers are high. Systems operating at extreme power levels require demanding thermal management, component reliability and manufacturing tolerances.
Stellios must demonstrate that its systems can be manufactured consistently, delivered economically and integrated into customer applications.
Its $2 million order book is a promising starting point, but successful deployments and repeat orders will be more meaningful indicators of commercial traction than its longer-term ambitions in fusion and propulsion.