SpaceX
Facts
- HQ
- United States
- Sectors
- Aerospace, Space Technology, Data Center / Infrastructure
- Founded
- 2002
- Employees
- 10000
- Stage
- Private
Avalanche Energy, Founded by Blue Origin Vets, Raises $5M to Develop Small-Scale Fusion Device, Achieves First Neutron Fusion
Avalanche Energy, founded by former Blue Origin executives Robin Langtry and Brian Riordan, is developing a small-scale fusion energy device and recently raised $5 million in seed funding. The Seattle-based startup has generated its first neutrons via fusion and secured an international patent, aiming for a simpler, scalable fusion solution.
Bill Gates Leads $84M Funding Round to Expand Kymeta's Flat-Panel Antenna Production and Market Reach
Bill Gates led an $84 million funding round for Kymeta, a mobile connectivity startup specializing in flat-panel antennas that provide hybrid cellular-satellite connectivity. The investment will support production acceleration and market expansion, especially for defense and satellite broadband users.
ZeroAvia opens R&D center at Everett’s Paine Field; $5.5M refit and $350K Washington grant support hydrogen-electric powertrain work
ZeroAvia is opening an R&D center at Everett’s Paine Field near Seattle to develop hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrains, with plans to begin customer rollouts in 2024 and potentially build a North American manufacturing hub there. The Paine Field site converts warehouse space into offices and labs, received a $350,000 Washington grant, and will employ 20–30 people initially while ZeroAvia pursues larger-scale manufacturing and powertrains for bigger aircraft.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures (Bill Gates) leads $65M funding for Stoke Space’s fully reusable-rocket program
Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures is leading a $65 million investment in Stoke Space to support development of fully reusable rockets aimed at cutting launch costs and enabling faster, lower-cost access to satellites for climate-monitoring applications.
Kymeta and OneWeb Successfully Test u8 Antenna-Based Mobile Satellite Broadband at 200 Mbps Using OneWeb’s LEO Constellation
Kymeta Corp. partnered with OneWeb to test satellite broadband services using Kymeta's u8 flat-panel antenna, achieving promising results for mobile connectivity with OneWeb's LEO satellite network. The tests in Toulouse demonstrated about 200 Mbps reception, targeting first responders, government, military, and enterprise markets.
Stoke Space builds Moses Lake test site, completes full-scale second-stage demo and hot-fire 'three-pack' in six months
Stoke Space Technologies rapidly built a 2.3-acre liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen test facility in Moses Lake, Washington, and completed a full-scale manufacturing demonstration and hot-fire tests of a second-stage engine ‘three-pack’ in six months. CEO Andy Lapsa says the two-year-old startup is pursuing full second-stage reusability to lower launch costs, taking a different technical approach than SpaceX and Blue Origin.
DressX Partners with Crypto.com to Launch Digital Fashion NFTs Featuring Limited Edition SpaceX Collection on August 29
DressX, a digital fashion start-up, partnered with Crypto.com to launch the DRESSX NFT store featuring limited edition digital fashion collectibles, including a SpaceX-themed outfit dropping on August 29 priced from one Ethereum. The NFTs can be worn virtually via augmented reality through DressX's app, offering a new model for distributing and valuing digital fashion assets.
Astra to Go Public July 1 via Craig McCaw’s Holicity SPAC in $2.1B Deal; Proxy Voting Starts
Astra plans to go public on Nasdaq on July 1 via a merger with Craig McCaw’s SPAC Holicity, a deal that values Astra at $2.1 billion and follows recent launches and business moves including a planned acquisition of Apollo Fusion worth up to $145 million. CEO Chris Kemp said proxy statements for the June 30 shareholder vote are being mailed, and Astra has secured multi-launch work for Planet and aims to use Apollo Fusion propulsion on Spaceflight Inc.’s Sherpa tug.
Electric Era, founded by ex‑SpaceX engineers, raises $3M seed from REMUS Capital to build battery systems for fast EV chargers
Seattle startup Electric Era, founded by former SpaceX engineers, raised a $3 million seed round led by REMUS Capital to build lithium battery storage systems that buffer grid demand at fast EV charging stations; the company expects initial customer deployments in coming months and can manufacture 40 units per week.
Xplore opens 22,000‑sq ft satellite manufacturing facility in Redmond, to start production in June
Xplore has leased a 22,000-square-foot satellite manufacturing facility in Redmond, Washington, in the former Planetary Resources complex and will begin moving in June to produce ESPA-class XCraft and LightCraft spacecraft. The company plans to build up to 20 spacecraft per year for commercial customers and U.S. agencies including NASA, NOAA, the Space Force and Air Force.
Orbite launches three-day astronaut orientation sessions Aug. 23 in France, November–December in Orlando with zero‑G and high‑G flights
Seattle startup Orbite will offer three-day "try before you buy" astronaut orientation sessions starting Aug. 23 in France and later in Orlando, featuring VR, zero-G and high-G flights, space-food classes and stargazing for up to 10 participants per session.
RBC Signals raises $1.2M late-seed round to scale global satellite ground-station services, total funding $3.2M
RBC Signals closed a $1.2 million late seed funding round to expand its satellite ground-station services as demand rises, bringing total funding to $3.2 million and supporting growth ahead of a busy 2021.
Startup Haven launches Startup Haven Ventures, adds Westerdal, Yu and Mbemba; PSL promotes three; Adam Selipsky named AWS CEO
Startup Haven, founded by Bob Crimmins, launched Startup Haven Ventures and expanded its team to include Jay Westerdal, Arry Yu and Claudius Mbemba; the fund targets pre-seed, capital-efficient companies with a Pacific Northwest focus and made its first investment in Verdi. Seattle’s Pioneer Square Labs promoted Palvi Mehta, David Zager and Ben Gilbert; separately, Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky will become AWS CEO, replacing Andy Jassy.
Kymeta and Kepler demonstrate u8 flat-panel antenna achieving 100 Mbps and 2+ GB per pass in Arctic test
Kymeta and Kepler demonstrated that Kymeta's u8 flat-panel antenna can connect with Kepler’s LEO Global Data Service in Inuvik, Canada, achieving average uplink and downlink speeds of 100 Mbps and transferring over 2 GB per satellite pass in extreme cold.
Stoke Space Technologies raises $9.1 million seed round to build reusable upper-stage rockets
Stoke Space Technologies, founded by former Blue Origin engineers in Renton, Wash., raised $9.1 million in seed funding to develop a reusable upper-stage rocket aimed at making full-stage reusability commonplace. CEO Andy Lapsa says extending reusability to upper stages is the next industry milestone and will better serve the commercial satellite market.
Craig McCaw’s Holicity to Merge with Astra in $2.1 Billion SPAC Deal That Could Raise $500 Million
Craig McCaw’s Holicity SPAC is merging with launch startup Astra in a deal that values Astra at $2.1 billion and would yield up to $500 million in cash proceeds, aiming to fund daily low-Earth-orbit access despite Astra not yet having achieved routine orbit success.
Hanwha Systems to invest $30M in Gates-backed Kymeta to pursue LEO-compatible satellite antennas
Hanwha Systems will invest $30 million in Kymeta Corp., backing the company's metamaterial flat-panel u8 antenna and Kymeta Connect hybrid cellular-satellite service as demand grows for LEO-compatible satellite connectivity.
Kymeta launches u8 hybrid satellite–cellular service and terminal for commercial and government markets today
Kymeta is launching commercial availability of its next-generation u8 hybrid satellite-cellular connectivity service and terminal for voice and data, targeting both commercial and government/military customers starting today. The low-power flat-panel u8 antenna uses metamaterials for electronic satellite tracking, is redesigned for extreme environments, and was validated in beta trials by users including firefighters.
Blue Origin Alumni Launch Startups: Relativity Prepares Terran Launch as Co-founder Jordan Noone Steps Back; Stoke Space Wins $225K NSF Grant
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos 20 years ago, has spawned a wave of space startups led by its alumni, including Relativity Space and Stoke Space. Relativity is preparing a Terran rocket launch and undergoing leadership change as co-founder Jordan Noone steps back, while Stoke Space in Renton is developing reusable upper-stage propulsion with a $225,000 NSF SBIR grant.
Kymeta acquires Lepton Global Solutions to add 17-satellite service network, targets U.S. government and military contracts
Kymeta Corp., the Redmond-based satellite antenna company backed by Bill Gates, acquired Lepton Global Solutions to add satellite service capabilities and strengthen its position for U.S. government and military contracts. Lepton will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary in Tysons Corner with fewer than 15 employees, expanding Kymeta’s workforce to nearly 200; financial terms were not disclosed.
Planetary Resources’ Lab Gear, Including 10‑Foot Vacuum Chamber and CNC Machine, Auctioned After 2018 Shutdown
Planetary Resources’ remaining hardware — including a 10-foot thermal vacuum chamber, CNC machining center, laptops, chairs and a rooftop satellite dish — was sold in an online-only auction after the asteroid-mining startup ran out of funding. Bids ranged from about $730 for the vacuum chamber to over $34,000 for the CNC machine, while the satellite dish drew no bids due to costly removal requirements.
BlackSky’s Spectra platform uses satellite imagery and AI to track activity and flag early signs of COVID-19 economic recovery
BlackSky's Spectra platform combines satellite imagery, AI image recognition, and multiple data streams to monitor activity—such as counting cars in parking lots—to identify early signs of economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SpaceX to launch limited Starlink broadband in northern U.S. and southern Canada by year-end; seeks FCC rule changes
SpaceX plans to begin limited commercial Starlink broadband service in the northern U.S. and southern Canada by the end of the year, aiming for near-global populated coverage in 2021, and is asking the FCC to apply equal fees to non-U.S. satellite operators and relax gateway station location rules.
PhishCloud offers one year free of PhishCloud Lite to businesses amid coronavirus to fight phishing attacks
Seattle startup PhishCloud offers automated link-scoring tools to help businesses and employees spot phishing across email, social media and documents, tagging links as safe, suspicious or unsafe. CEO Terry McCorkle is offering the companys entry package, PhishCloud Lite, free for one year to companies affected by the coronavirus.
Satya Nadella and Seattle Tech Leaders Join Sounders FC Ownership; Cray Gets $600M DOE Supercomputer Contract Ahead of $1.3B HPE Acquisition
Seattle tech leaders, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, have joined a revamped Sounders FC ownership group. Cray is developing a $600 million exascale supercomputer for the U.S. Department of Energy and is being acquired by HPE for $1.3 billion.
