# Mark Strauss

> Mark Strauss is the co-founder and CEO of WaveAerospace, a Stratford, Connecticut drone manufacturer building unmanned aircraft engineered to fly in the wind, rain and snow that ground everyone else. A Yale chemistry graduate, airplane racer and pilot who flew before he could legally drive, Strauss teamed with aerospace engineer Steve Bofill to design a new class of all-weather UAS - from the wind-beating Falcon II to the 300-mph Huntress turbojet - sold to police, emergency services, militaries and foreign governments including Ecuador. The company closed an oversubscribed Series A in 2023 at a $40 million pre-money valuation.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at WaveAerospace
- **Organizations:** WaveAerospace
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Yale University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads WaveAerospace, a Connecticut manufacturer of all-weather unmanned aircraft., Helped invent a hybrid rotary/fixed-wing aircraft class capable of roughly 300 mph and VTOL operation (the Huntress)., Built 50+ prototypes on about $4 million in initial funding.

## Career timeline

- **pre-2014** — Built a background in marketing, e-commerce and analytics; worked as an instructor of science teachers; competed as an airplane racer; became obsessed with building toy drones.
- **2014** — Co-founded WaveAerospace with aerospace engineer Steve Bofill to pursue efficient, all-weather flight.
- **2019** — WaveAerospace joined UConn's Technology Incubator Program (TIP Digital), expanding staff, products and customers.
- **2023** — Opened pre-orders for the Huntress turbojet and closed an oversubscribed Series A round at a $40M pre-money valuation, led by Augurey Ventures.
- **2024** — Set up manufacturing at Three Wing Aviation / Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, CT; demonstrated the Huntress electric jet to the U.S. Coast Guard.
- **2025** — Demonstrated the Mule quadcopter at Project Convergence; advanced Huntress flight testing; selling to police, emergency services, militaries and foreign governments including Ecuador.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads WaveAerospace, a Connecticut manufacturer of all-weather unmanned aircraft.
- Helped invent a hybrid rotary/fixed-wing aircraft class capable of roughly 300 mph and VTOL operation (the Huntress).
- Built 50+ prototypes on about $4 million in initial funding.
- Closed an oversubscribed Series A at a $40 million pre-money valuation in 2023.
- Aircraft adopted by police, emergency services, militaries and foreign governments including Ecuador.
- Core engineering insight: redistributing waste heat to prevent icing and enable flight in severe weather.

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Featured in govtech/UAS Vision coverage on jet-powered drones for military and emergency response; Mule demonstrated at Project Convergence and Huntress flight tests advancing.
- **2025-03** — Spoke to News12 Connecticut about the Falcon drone built in Stratford and the company's hangar at Sikorsky Memorial Airport.

## Links

- Website: https://waveaerospace.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mestrauss
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtlCwKx2is
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/waveaerospace

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/mark-strauss
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11