Philip Johnston

Reza Chowdhury / AlleyWatch Sep 18

Gatik raises $200.0M Series D, bringing total equity funding to $504.7M; listed among 15 largest US rounds of September 2026

AlleyWatch lists the largest US startup funding rounds for September 2026 (titled as August in headline), including detailed company profiles; one highlighted deal: Santa Clara-based autonomous trucking company Gatik raised $200.0M in a Series D, bringing its total equity funding to $504.7M.

Amanda Greenwood / Newsweek Aug 26

Starcloud raises $250M Series A extension from Nvidia and Cisco Investments, valued at $2.3B to build AI data centers in orbit

Starcloud raised a $250 million extension to its Series A, bringing total funding to $450 million and a $2.3 billion valuation to pursue AI-powered data centers in orbit with backing from Nvidia and Cisco Investments.

Bojan Stojkovski / Interesting Engineering Aug 23

Starcloud raises $250M at $2.3B valuation to deploy NVIDIA GPU-powered orbital data centers

Starcloud, a US startup backed by NVIDIA and Cisco Investments, raised $250 million in a Series A extension at a $2.3 billion valuation to build satellites with high-performance GPUs (including NVIDIA H100s) and deploy orbital data centers for AI workloads. The company has already demonstrated an H100 in space, trained models and run AI inference there, and will use the funding for spacecraft manufacturing, engineering and launches toward a large orbital computing network.

425 Business / Seattle Sports Aug 21

Starcloud Raises $250M Series A Extension Led by Manhattan West, Valuing Company at $2.3B; Nvidia Joins Investors

Redmond-based Starcloud raised $250 million in a Series A extension led by Manhattan West, valuing the company at $2.3 billion and bringing total capital raised to $450 million since its 2024 founding. The company, which launched the first Nvidia H100 GPU to orbit on Starcloud-1 in November 2025, is partnering with Nvidia on the Space-1 Vera Rubin Module to deploy more space-rated GPUs and scale AI compute using orbital data centers.

Keshav Aggarwal / BitcoinWorld Aug 21

Starcloud Raises $250M Extension, Valued at $2.3B, Funds Starcloud-3 and Manufacturing as It Secures Launch Capacity

Starcloud raised a $250M Series A extension (bringing the round to $420M and valuing the company at $2.3B) to build larger manufacturing capacity and its Starcloud-3 orbital AI data center, while securing launch capacity as SpaceX phases out Falcon 9 and Starship faces delays. Investors include Manhattan West Ventures, Nvidia (which invested $25M), Cisco and others; Starcloud operates Nvidia H100 GPUs in orbit and plans to fly Nvidia's Vera Rubin Space-1 chip by late 2028.

Nileena Sunil / The American Bazaar Aug 21

Starcloud raises $250M extension to March Series A, valuing company at $2.3B to build Starcloud-3 and expand manufacturing

Space startup Starcloud extended its March Series A with a $250 million addition, bringing its valuation to $2.3 billion and funding expansion of manufacturing and its Starcloud-3 orbital data center planned to fly on SpaceX’s Starship. The round, led by Manhattan West Ventures with participation from Nvidia and Cisco, will also help secure launch capacity amid tightening rocket availability.

Rachel Jewett / Via Satellite Aug 21

Starcloud raises $250M Series A extension led by Manhattan West, valuing company at $2.3B

Orbital data center startup Starcloud raised an additional $250 million in a Series A expansion led by Manhattan West, bringing total Series A proceeds to $450 million and valuing the company at $2.3 billion. The funding will expand manufacturing, engineering with Nvidia, and launch access as Starcloud pursues an 88,000-satellite constellation and has already placed an Nvidia H100 GPU in orbit running Google’s Gemini.

Межа / Межа Aug 21

Starcloud Raises $250M Extension, Valued at $2.3B to Build Starcloud-3 and Orbital AI Data Centers

Starcloud raised an additional $250 million in a Series A extension, bringing its valuation to $2.3 billion after a prior $170 million raise, to build larger satellites and an orbital AI data center. The company plans to scale production of its Starcloud-3 spacecraft, secure launch capacity (including SpaceX Starship flights), and has applied to the FCC to operate 88,000 spacecraft.

425 Business / 425business.com Aug 21

Starcloud Raises $250M Series A Extension, Valued at $2.3B to Build Orbital AI Data Centers

Redmond-based Starcloud raised a $250 million Series A extension, valuing the company at $2.3 billion and bringing total funding to $450 million to build orbital data centers for AI. The round was led by Manhattan West and includes new strategic investors such as Nvidia and Cisco Investments, continuing a collaboration that began when Starcloud launched an NVIDIA H100 GPU to orbit in November 2025.

Kevin Parker / citybiz Aug 21

Starcloud raises $250M at $2.3B valuation to scale space-based AI data centers, led by Manhattan West

Starcloud raised $250 million in a Series A extension at a $2.3 billion post-money valuation to expand its space-based data centers, fund manufacturing, engineering with NVIDIA, and secure future launches. The company — which launched an NVIDIA H100 on Starcloud-1 in November 2025 and has run AI models in orbit — plans a constellation targeting 88,000 satellites and 20 GW of orbital compute.

Alan Boyle / GeekWire Aug 21

Starcloud raises $250M from Manhattan West, Nvidia and others to outfit satellites with Nvidia Space-1 chips

Starcloud raised $250 million in a Series A extension — led by Manhattan West and including Nvidia and Cisco Investments — to build a constellation of data-center satellites using Nvidia’s Space-1 Vera Rubin Module for in-space AI processing, bringing its total funding to $450 million and valuing the company at $2.3 billion.

Tim Fernholz / TechCrunch Aug 21

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.

Nate Bek / GeekWire Aug 20

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.

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Jun 17

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.

Ana-Maria Stanciuc / The Next Web Mar 30

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.

Lisa Stiffler / GeekWire Mar 30

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.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Mar 25

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.

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire Mar 2

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.

Alan Boyle / GeekWire Feb 26, 2025

Starcloud Raises $10M More, Totaling $21M Seed to Launch Solar-Powered Orbital Data Centers

Starcloud, formerly Lumen Orbit, has raised a total of $21 million in seed funding to develop space-based data centers powered by large solar panel arrays. These orbital data centers aim to reduce terrestrial data center impacts and improve processing of satellite data by handling computations in space.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire Dec 11, 2024

Seattle Startup Lumen Orbit Raises $11M Seed Round to Build Space-Based Data Centers for AI

Lumen Orbit, a Seattle-area startup founded in 2023, raised $11 million in seed funding to develop data centers in space for AI and technology services on Earth. The company, valued at $40 million, plans to launch a full-scale prototype in 2025 and is led by CEO Philip Johnston and co-founders with aerospace and space tech backgrounds.

Alan Boyle / GeekWire Mar 12, 2024

Bellevue Startup Lumen Orbit Raises $2.4M to Launch 300 Satellites for AI Data Processing in Space

Lumen Orbit, a Bellevue-based startup, raised $2.4 million in a pre-seed round to launch a constellation of about 300 satellites aimed at processing data in space using onboard AI before downlinking it to Earth. The company’s founders include ex-McKinsey associate Philip Johnston, Oxford Space Systems and Airbus engineer Ezra Feilden, and former SpaceX software engineer Adi Oltean.