Rocket engine startup Impulse raises $500 million to hire people, not AI Impulse Space, a startup focused on in-space mobility, has announced a $500 million Series D funding round led by 137 Ventures and BANNER VC. The capital will be used to hire up to 200 new employees, build and test more space vehicles, and further develop their Mira and Helios platforms. The company’s president, Eric Romo, believes that while AI coding tools are useful, deep learning models are not yet capable of solving real-world engineering problems in hardware design, stressing the continued importance of human expertise.

• Impulse Space raised $500 million in a Series D funding round.
• The funding will be used to hire up to 200 new employees.
• The company focuses on in-space mobility with platforms like Mira and Helios.
• President Eric Romo emphasizes the continued need for human engineers in hardware design.
• Impulse Space is preparing for another launch of its Mira spacecraft.
• The company recently opened an office in Colorado to access aerospace talent. Continue reading https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/02/rocket-engine-startup-impulse-raises-500-million-to-hire-people-not-ai/