Skip to main content

Beehive Industries

ApplicationHeadquarters: Centennial, CO. Other facilities: Knoxville, TN; Cincinnati, OH.Founded 2020· One of 686 Application companies tracked by AMPulse

Small Expendable Turbine (SET) Engines for UAVs, drones, and munitions, additive manufacturing contract services for complex components, and vertically integrated propulsion systems.

Featured in: The Procurement Quarter · Snapshot Sep 8, 2026
CEO / Founder
Mohammad Ehteshami
Team Size
51-200
Stage
Active
Total Funding
$42.16M
Key Investors
US Air Force

Technology & Products

Key Products

Small Expendable Turbine (SET) Engines including Frenzy (100-300 lbf, for swarming munitions/UAVs); Rampart (1,000+ lbf turbofan for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, unveiled Apr 2026); additive manufacturing contract services and investment casting for complex components; vertically integrated propulsion systems.

Technological Advantage

Proprietary additive manufacturing techniques that achieve significant part consolidation, reduced production cycles, and lower costs.

Patent position

Beehive Industries has filed 25 patent families, compared with 3 for Ursa Major Technologies and 1 for GE Aerospace. AMPulse analysis

Filing momentum
20 families filed 2022–2024, 1 in 2019–2021
Filed in
WO 56%US 24%EP 20%
Named competitors, AM patent families
Ursa Major Technologies 3GE Aerospace 1

25 AM patent families in total. Recent years are still being published, so read a filing change against the same-office figure.

Differentiation

Value Proposition

Enables cost-effective and rapid production of high-performance jet engines and components through advanced additive manufacturing, reducing costs by over 50% compared to traditional methods.

How They Differentiate

Focus on small, expendable turbine engines produced via additive manufacturing, offering faster production cycles and significantly lower costs than traditional techniques.

Market & Competition

Target Customers

US Department of Defense (Air Force), defense contractors, aerospace OEMs, and power generation companies.

Industry Verticals

Aerospace, Defense, Power Generation

Competitors

Ursa Major Technologies; Kratos Defense & Security Solutions; GE Aerospace; Pratt & Whitney

Growth & Milestones

Growth Metrics

Expanded footprint to ~170,000 sq ft across four locations; team grown to 200+ employees; secured $12.46M USAF contract (Oct 2024) and $29.7M USAF contract for Frenzy engine family (Apr 2026); announced $50M investment in 30 EOS M4 ONYX metal AM systems for Knoxville, TN and Centennial, CO facilities (Jun 2026); acquired two Cincinnati-area machine shops, Able Tool Corp and Planet Products Corp, to expand machining capacity (Jun 30, 2026); ordered multiple Nikon SLM Solutions NXG 600E systems (Jul 2026); targeting 8,000+ engines/year production capacity.

Major Milestones

Founded in 2020, Acquired Volunteer Aerospace in November 2021, Demonstrated 500 lbf thrust engine in 13 months, Opened Knoxville, TN facility in May 2024, Awarded $12.46M USAF contract in October 2024, Opened new headquarters in Centennial, CO in December 2024, Awarded $29.7M USAF contract for Frenzy engine family development in April 2026, Unveiled Rampart 1,000+ lbf turbofan engine for Collaborative Combat Aircraft (April 2026), Completed high-altitude testing of Frenzy engine, clearing path to flight (2026), Announced $50M investment in 30 EOS M4 ONYX metal AM systems (June 2026), Acquired two Cincinnati-area machine shops, Able Tool Corp and Planet Products Corp (June 30, 2026), Revealed goal to produce 8,000+ jet engines per year; ordered Nikon SLM Solutions NXG 600E systems (July 2026)

Notable Customers

US Air Force; University of Dayton Research Institute; Boeing; Lockheed Martin; Northrop Grumman; NASA

https://www.beehive-industries.com

Recent coverage of Beehive Industries

Official records

Filings, certifications, and programme counts AMPulse can show for this company.

  • [C] AS9100 · claimed
  • [C] ITAR · claimed

AM patents

AM-relevant patents linked to this company.

Patents
25
Granted
3
Families
25

Leading domains: process (23), material (18), equipment (9)

Filings by year: 2025: 4 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1

  1. SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FORMING A TURBINE ENGINE SHROUD ELEMENT WITH AN INTEGRAL SACRIFICIAL RING2025144613 · WO
  2. TWO STREAM DIFFUSER INTEGRATED AS A SINGLE UNIT FOR USE IN A TURBOFAN JET ENGINE2025144657 · WO
  3. SERVICE STATION SERVING A PRINT HEAD2025145073 · WO
  4. FORMING A SINGLE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE DURING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING4724260 · EP
  5. SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FORMING DIRECTIONAL CRYSTAL MICROSTRUCTURES2025111186 · WO

Funding rounds

  • Contract$29.7M2026-04-09Lead: US Air Force
  • Contract$12.5M2024-10-01Lead: US Air Force

Equipment deals on record

Publicly disclosed purchases or installs only.

  • NXG 600E; NXG 600E

    2 systems · Not disclosed

    Buyer: Beehive Industries · Supplier: Nikon SLM Solutions
  • EOS M4 Onyx

    30 systems · At least USD 50,000,000

    Buyer: Beehive Industries · Supplier: EOS
All equipment activity

Why this company matters

AMPulse analysis, not a company disclosure

Beehive Industries occupies a narrow but critical niche in defense propulsion: small expendable turbine (SET) engines for UAVs, drones, and munitions, produced via metal additive manufacturing. Founded in 2020, the company combines design, AM production, and testing under one roof, a vertically integrated model that reduces reliance on traditional casting and forging supply chains. Its core value proposition is cost reduction of over 50% and dramatically shorter production cycles compared to conventional jet engine manufacturing.

The company's technological advantage lies in proprietary AM techniques that enable significant part consolidation and rapid iteration. Beehive demonstrated a 500 lbf thrust engine in 13 months, a timeline difficult to achieve with subtractive methods. Joint intellectual property developed with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Dayton Research Institute underpins its process know-how, though specific design methodologies are not publicly disclosed.

Primary customers include the US Department of Defense, defense primes such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, as well as NASA. Beehive also offers additive manufacturing contract services for complex aerospace components. A $12.46 million US Air Force contract awarded in October 2024 and partnerships with the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office signal strong government demand for AM-produced propulsion systems.

Key competitors include Ursa Major Technologies, Kratos Defense, GE Aerospace, and Pratt & Whitney. Beehive differentiates by focusing exclusively on small, expendable turbine engines where speed and cost matter more than long service life. The company has expanded to roughly 170,000 square feet across four facilities in Colorado, Tennessee, and Ohio, and grown its workforce to over 200 employees. An open question is whether its vertically integrated model can scale to meet larger production volumes without sacrificing the cost advantage that makes it attractive for expendable applications.