Starcloud
Facts
- HQ
- Woodinville
- Sectors
- Defense and Space Manufacturing
- Founded
- 2024
- Employees
- 66
- Stage
- Series A
- Founders
- Philip Johnston, Ezra Feilden, Adi Oltean
Starcloud Raises $250 Million Series A Extension at $2.3B Valuation to Expand Orbital Data Centers
Starcloud raised $250 million in a Series A extension at a $2.3 billion post-money valuation to expand its space-based data center business using orbital data centers.
Starcloud adds $250M to Series A, now valued at $2.3B, to build orbital data centers and secure launches
Starcloud raised a $250 million extension to its March $170 million Series A, valuing the company at $2.3 billion, to expand manufacturing and develop its Starcloud-3 orbital data center amid tightening launch availability. The startup plans rideshare launches of two 8 kW Starcloud-2 satellites in 2027 and is securing capital and launch contracts as major rockets like Falcon 9 phase out.
Seattle’s ‘Third Act’: VCs Say Local Superstars Are Deep-Tech Startups Building Rockets, Geothermal Plants and Autonomous Vehicles
Two Seattle venture capitalists argue that the city’s next wave of superstar startups are already here but focus on deep tech—intelligent machines and physical products like rockets, geothermal plants and autonomous off-road vehicles—rather than pure software. They frame this shift as Seattle’s "Third Act," building on maritime/aerospace roots (Act I) and the software/cloud boom (Act II) to combine hardware and software using local infrastructure and talent.
Complete Genomics to Add Producer-Investor Lauren Selig to Board Upon Swiss Rockets AG Acquisition Pending CFIUS Clearance
Complete Genomics announced that film producer and investor Lauren Selig will join its board when Swiss Rockets AG's acquisition closes; the deal has shareholder and Chinese regulatory approval but still needs CFIUS clearance.
Seattle Tech Week 2026 Draws ~250 Events Over Five Days, Showcasing City’s Tech Talent and Innovation
Seattle Tech Week 2026 ran five days with roughly 250 events across diverse venues, celebrating Seattle’s dense tech talent and community connections while highlighting themes from founders, investors, and academics. Organizers view the event as a community-led showcase that reinforced Seattle’s historic and ongoing contributions to cloud, AI, and other innovations.
Sophia Space and Caltech patent TILE modular tiles for solar-powered orbital data centers that passively radiate heat
Sophia Space and Caltech secured a patent for a modular, tile-based satellite architecture (TILE) that passively radiates heat to enable solar-powered orbital data centers, avoiding centralized cooling systems. The design uses 4-inch tiles with four processors each, independently powered and connected by fiber optics to improve scalability for AI workloads in low Earth orbit.
Ascend series: Seattle’s ‘Third Act’ — physical AI startups on Lake Union signal a shift toward software-enabled hardware
The piece reports from Lake Union to argue Seattle is entering a third industrial era—'physical AI'—where hardware-enabled intelligent machines mix with legacy maritime and aerospace industries, exemplified by startups like Overland, Anduril, Brinc, and Endurance Energy. The authors say Seattle has the talent, infrastructure, and institutions to lead but needs more risk-taking, investor capital for hardware, and pro-innovation policy to fully capitalize on this shift.
Helion’s $465M Series G Values Everett Fusion Firm Above $15B, Tops Seattle-Area 2Q VC Deals
Everett fusion-energy company Helion led greater Seattle-area 2Q venture capital deals with a $465 million Series G that valued it above $15 billion, making up nearly one-third of the region’s $1.5 billion in 2Q funding amid a year-over-year decline from $2.3 billion in 2Q 2025.
Seattle Startups Raise $2.7B in H1 2026 — Down 40% Year‑Over‑Year While U.S. VC Hits Record $412.7B
Seattle-area startups raised $2.7 billion across 163 deals in H1 2026, a roughly 40% drop from $4.5 billion a year earlier, as national venture funding surged to a record $412.7 billion driven largely by AI mega-rounds that Seattle’s pure-play AI companies did not capture.
Former OpenAI CPO Kevin Weil Joins Stoke Space Board Before Nova Rocket’s Orbital Flight
Stoke Space has appointed former OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil to its board, leveraging his product leadership and fundraising experience ahead of its first orbital flight attempt this year. Weil, an early investor, will support Stoke Space's mission to build a fully reusable orbital rocket, a unique feat in American aerospace.
Starcloud Raises $170M, Hits $1.1B Valuation to Build AI Data Centers in Space Ahead of Google
Several startups, led by Starcloud which recently raised $170 million and reached a $1.1 billion valuation, are racing to establish AI data centers in space to overcome terrestrial power and land constraints. Google and other major players are also developing satellite-based computing projects, highlighting a growing trend toward orbit-based AI infrastructure.
K2 Space Opens Seattle Engineering Office to Support Production of Mega-Class Satellites with $1 Billion in Contracts
K2 Space, a California-based company specializing in large, high-power satellites for government and commercial clients, is opening an engineering office in the Seattle area to support its growth. The company has raised over $500 million, secured $1 billion in contracts, and plans to produce hundreds of satellites annually by 2030.
Starcloud Becomes Fastest Y Combinator Unicorn at $1.1B as Fusion Leader Helion Tops GeekWire 200 with $15.5B Valuation
The latest GeekWire 200 highlights a shift in the Pacific Northwest startup scene toward physical products like rockets, fusion reactors, and space-based data centers, with Starcloud becoming the fastest Y Combinator unicorn valued at $1.1 billion. Helion maintains the top spot with a $15.5 billion valuation, while notable companies like Stoke Space, Overland AI, and new unicorn XBOW also make significant moves.
Startups Starcloud, Axiom Space, and Lonestar Race to Deploy AI Data Centers in Orbit Ahead of Google and SpaceX
Several startups including Starcloud, Axiom Space, and Lonestar are competing to establish AI data centers in orbit ahead of major companies like Google and SpaceX. This race aims to secure strategic positions in space-based computing infrastructure.
Startups Starcloud and Cowboy Space Raise Over $445 Million to Develop Space-Based AI Data Centers Amid Launch Cost Challenges
Startups Starcloud and Cowboy Space are advancing space-based AI data centers with significant funding and hardware deployments, yet economic viability hinges on launch costs. Starcloud has already demonstrated AI in orbit and raised $170 million, while Cowboy Space plans to integrate rocket and data center technology with $275 million raised.
Starcloud Raises $170M, Pioneers AI GPU Satellite in Race for Space-Based Data Centers
Starcloud, a startup valued at $1.1 billion, has launched a GPU-powered satellite into orbit and raised $170 million in Series A funding, aiming to build an 88,000-satellite constellation for AI data centers in space. The company leads a competitive race against giants like Google, SpaceX, and Blue Origin to establish orbital AI infrastructure before launch costs decrease.
Cowboy Space Raises $275M at $2B Valuation, Plans 40-60 Hires for Seattle Satellite and Rocket Hub
Cowboy Space Corp., founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, raised $275 million in a Series B round valuing the company at $2 billion and is hiring 40-60 employees for its new Seattle satellite and rocket engineering hub. The company develops solar-powered satellites that function as data centers and builds integrated rockets to launch them, competing for talent in Seattle's aerospace sector.
AI Compute Scarcity Drives Price Surges and Limits Growth Amid Resource Constraints Through 2028
The article discusses the current scarcity in AI computing resources, such as GPU clusters and memory, leading to rising costs and operational constraints. It warns that although companies benefiting from this scarcity are thriving now, history shows these resource bottlenecks eventually break, reshaping the industry landscape.
Philip Johnston announces Starcloud’s $170M Series A at $1.1B valuation to build space data centers
Starcloud raised a $170M Series A at a $1.1B valuation to advance development of space-based data centers, funding their third satellite aimed at making AI inference cost-competitive with Earth centers after deploying Starcloud-1 which trained an LLM in space.
Seattle Startups Raised $1.5B in Q1 2026 with Lowest Deal Count Since 2020, Ranking 7th in VC Capital Invested
Seattle-area startups raised $1.5 billion across 69 deals in Q1 2026, marking the lowest deal count since mid-2020 amid a trend of larger funding rounds concentrated in fewer companies, particularly in AI. The Seattle region ranked seventh nationally by capital invested but tenth by deal count, reflecting a national pattern of venture capital focusing on a small number of high-profile startups.
Round raises $6M seed led by Alstin Capital to automate treasury, payroll, payments and FX
London fintech Round raised $6 million in a seed round led by Alstin Capital to automate treasury, payments, payroll, and FX for finance teams, with participation from Backed VC, Love Ventures, existing customers, and angel Paul Forster. The funding accompanies two product launches: an Agentic Workflow Builder that converts plain-English instructions into continuous automated workflows, and Autonomous Payroll that funds, executes, and confirms payroll runs across systems.
Starcloud raises $170M Series A at $1.1B valuation to fund two satellites for orbital data centres
Starcloud raised $170 million in a Series A led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures at a $1.1 billion valuation to fund its next two satellites and advance orbital data-centre development, bringing total funding to $200 million. The Redmond startup already operates an Nvidia H100 GPU in orbit, trained the first AI model in space, and is building Starship-class spacecraft to make orbital data centres cost-competitive with terrestrial facilities.
Starcloud Raises $170M, Reaches $1.1B Valuation to Build Solar-Powered Space Data Centers
Starcloud, a Redmond-based startup building solar-powered space data centers, raised $170 million to reach a $1.1 billion valuation just 17 months after its Y Combinator demo day. The company demonstrated AI computing in orbit with its Starcloud-1 satellite and plans a more powerful Starcloud-2 launch later this year.
GeekWire 2026 Innovation of the Year Finalists Include Alpenglow Biosciences and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
The 2026 GeekWire Awards announced finalists for Innovation of the Year, including Alpenglow Biosciences, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, RevealDx, Starcloud, and VerAvanti, recognized for breakthroughs in healthcare and data center technology. The awards event will be held on May 7 in Seattle, with public voting open through April 10.
Aetherflux, Founded by Robinhood's Baiju Bhatt, Expands to Seattle for Solar-Powered Orbital Data Center Satellite Development
Aetherflux, a space startup founded in 2024 by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, is expanding to Seattle to develop solar-powered orbital data center satellites aimed at supporting AI energy needs, with a commercial launch planned for 2027. The company joins a growing aerospace community in Seattle, focusing on leveraging space-based infrastructure to overcome limitations of ground-based AI computing resources.
People
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Ezra Feilden Founder, Co-Founder & CTO
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Philip Johnston Founder, Co-Founder & CEO
