Space Capital is a venture capital firm investing in the Space economy, specifically focused on unlocking the value in Space technology stacks such as GPS, Geospatial Intelligence, and Communications.

Space Capital

#ANGELS is an investment collective. In addition to investing in phenomenal companies,  their mission is to get more women on the cap tables of successful startups. As investors, they back ambitious founders pursuing bold ideas. They collectively have a portfolio of 80+ companies across a wide range of industries.

#Angels

MiLA Capital is a high-touch Venture Capital firm based in Los Angeles, CA. The team believes that (1) hardware can be brought to market more frugally than in the past and that (2) Los Angeles has the expertise and best resources to support founders who play in the physical world. Since 2015, MiLA Capital has seen a gap in SoCal’s startup hard tech ecosystem; talent was incredible but fragmented while capital was plentiful except for seed stage hardware founders. We addressed that by raising an early stage venture fund, building an innovation lab known as Toolbox LA, recruiting a values-driven community of founders and mentors, and connecting hundreds of talented founders with the resources they need to impact the world. We also operate the Make in LA accelerator to find, nurture, and invest in promising hardware companies at the earliest stages.  We believe that undiscovered hardware founders are too often overlooked, and we are the right team to fund them at the significant inflection point of pre-manufacturing.

MiLA Capital (Make in LA)

Sequoia is a venture capital focused on energy, financial, enterprise, healthcare, internet, and mobile startups. The firm helps a small number of daring founders build legendary companies. It spurs them to push the boundaries of what’s possible. The firm seeks to invest in all sectors with a focus on energy, financials and financial services, healthcare and healthcare services, Internet, mobile, outsourcing, and technology.

Sequoia Capital

Arizona Tech Investors is an active community of accredited investors who invest in high-potential technology companies based in Arizona.  Members invest individually, collectively through single purpose LLCs, and via Sidecar Funds.  Candidates for funding apply to a competitive selection process in which the ATI Screening Committee selects 3 companies to present at each of the 5 Member Meetings held annually, in January, March, May, September, and October.

Arizona Tech Investors

Founded in 2000 and based in Tucson, AZ, the Desert Angels is a non-profit organization of accredited investors looking for opportunities to invest in early-stage companies. We focus on companies with new innovations in science, tech and SAAS, and our portfolio spans a broad range of industries. Our members will invest $4million-$6million per year into roughly 20 deals, about half of which are follow-on rounds. We offer a Sidecar fund which automatically co-invests when specific criteria are met. We are nationally recognized, and in the most recent ARI HALO report listed #7 in the country and #1 in the southwest region as one of the most active angel groups. The Desert Angels is a charter member of the Angel Capital Association (ACA), the trade association of angel investment groups; and an active member in the Angel Syndication Network (ASN), a network of angel groups that syndicate deals.

Desert Angels

Kanematsu Corporation is a Japan-based trading company. The Electronics and Device segment provides electronic components and materials, semiconductors, liquid crystal and solar cell manufacturing equipment, and communication technology systems, among others. The Foodstuff segment offers canned, frozen and dried fruit, coffee, cocoa, sugar, sesame seeds, among others. Iron, Steel, Materials and Plant segment provides various steel plate, long steel and wire rods, steel pipes, stainless steel products, among others. Vehicles and Aviation segment provides automotive parts and mechanical parts, aircraft and aircraft parts, among others.

Kanematsu Corporation

Space Angels specializes in providing capital for the growth and development of aerospace industries.

Space Angels

StreetEdge Capital is an investment firm focusing on direct private equity and private equity fund investments. The direct strategy specializes in pre-series A, series A, and series B investments in the media technology, software technology, and financial technology spaces.

StreetEdge Capital

Shasta Ventures invests in startups in sectors. Their program consists of a proven methodology and a set of comprehensive playbooks that dive deep into the obstacles and challenges of early-stage startups. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to early-stage, so this agile program allows founders to tap into the resources they need when they need them.

Shasta Ventures

BoomStartup is an Utah-based mentorship-driven seed Accelerator focusing its efforts on providing money, mentors, and markets for its energetic tech entrepreneur participants.  In 2014, we were rated the #12 Accelerator in the USA

BoomStartup

Osage University Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investing in startups that are commercializing university technologies. Osage partners with research universities to invest in their innovative startups shareing its investment profit with partner institutions. The firm invests in software, hardware, and life science companies at all stages of company development. To date, it has partnered with over 80 universities, including 36 of the top 50 U.S. institutions by research expenditures, and has invested in over 50 of their spinouts.

OUP (Osage University Partners)

The hardest thing for early stage B2B Startups is to find the first customer who can validate your Product Market Fit and grow your business together. Since 2011, they have created more than 100 partnerships between startups and Fortune 500 companies by leveraging their CXO network with Global Conglomerates.

DNX Ventures

daVinci Capital Group is an investment firm focused on gaining substantial minority ownership in microCap public companies.

daVinci Capital Group

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was created with a national sense of urgency in February 1958 amidst one of the most dramatic moments in the history of the Cold War and the already-accelerating pace of technology.  In the months preceding the official authorization for the agency's creation, Department of Defense Directive Number 5105.15, the Soviet Union had launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the world's first satellite, Sputnik 1, and the world's second satellite, two months after Sputnik 1, resulted in a spectacular fiery failure. Finally, at the end of January 1958, a stunned United States became the second nation to place an object in orbit when it successfully launched the Explorer 1 satellite.  Out of this traumatic experience of technological surprise in the first moments of the Space Age, U.S. leadership created DARPA, initially with the shorter name Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). In the nearly 60 years since it was established, DARPA has owned the critical mission of keeping the United States out front when it comes to cultivating breakthrough technologies for national security rather than in a position of catching up to strategically important innovations and achievements of others.  With no research and development facilities of its own, DARPA has become known as a laboratory and incubator of innovation by providing thought leadership, community-building frameworks, technology challenges, research management, funding, and other cultural and infrastructural support elements that it takes to usher transformative ideas toward consequential new realities.

DARPA

Lightspeed Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that engages in consumer, enterprise, technology, and cleantech markets. It focuses on seed, early-stage, later-stage, expansion-stage, start-ups, growth companies, and incubation, and specializes in debt financing for start-ups and growth companies. Lightspeed Venture Partners invests in various sectors that include enterprise, consumer, big data, bitcoin, enterprise technology, cleantech, mobile, internet, financial technology, cloud solutions, e-commerce, storage, media, networking, energy, and software, software-as-a-service, information technology, biotechnology, and social.

Lightspeed Venture Partners

Marc Bell Ventures is a venture capital firm that offers early-stage and private equity investment services to firms in the finance, hospitality, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 2000 by Marc Bell and is based in Florida.

Marc Bell Ventures

Hemisphere Ventures is an investment firm that focuses on achieving scale and identifying early revenue opportunities for the advancement in synthetic biology, robotics, drones, and space.  Founded in 2014, Hemisphere Ventures is headquartered in Mckinney, Texas.

Hemisphere Ventures

Kodem Growth Partners is an investment and commercialization firm organized to scale technology-enabled businesses with capital and access to decision makers globally in the public and private sectors. Kodem Growth Partners is a growth stage enterprise investor focused on transformational technology companies. The partners’ senior relationships with decision makers in government and industry around the world offer portfolio companies unrivaled market entry capabilities. Key areas of focus include technologies that connect, analyze and protect in the aerospace and defense and industrials markets.

Kodem Growth Partners

Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners (AIP) provides innovative alternative investment solutions across hedge funds, private equity, real estate and diversified alternatives. Our dedicated investment teams draw on a deep understanding of alternative investment strategies formed over decades of investment experience. We apply this deep understanding to bring thoughtful, opportunistic and innovative solutions to our clients.

Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners

NASA Ames Research Center conducts research and development. The research center focuses in the development of aeronautics, exploration technology, and science aligned with the center's core capabilities. They lead research initiatives to devise the ways for commercial drones, flying cars and aircraft to safely share the skies. Their specialties include aerosciences, computing and information technology, entry systems, air traffic management, astrobiology, life sciences, and earth sciences.

NASA Ames Research Center

Marc Bell Capital Partners LLC is a private equity and venture capital investment firm specializing distressed debt, debtor-in-possession, expansion capital, special situations, mezzanine, bridge, management buyouts, and recapitalizations investments. The firm prefers to invest in the commercial, entertainment ventures, publishing, internet, retail, and residential real estate sector. It seeks to invest between $1 million and $50 million in its portfolio companies. The firm prefers to have a controlling stake or substantial influence in its portfolio companies. Marc Bell Capital Partners LLC was founded in 2003 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

Marc Bell Capital

Alumni Ventures Group provides high-quality, diversified venture portfolios to individual investors who previously haven't had access to VC. It helps accredited alums from top entrepreneurial schools invest together in the ventures of fellow alums. The firm backs companies with an alumni connection and an institutional lead investor with expertise in the space. AVG also offers focused funds that allow any accredited investor access to a venture portfolio, diversified by type, sector, stage, and geography. Beth Obermiller, Michael Madden, and Mike Collins co-founded the firm in Manchester, New Hampshire in 2013.

Alumni Ventures

Vector Launch

Vector was founded by several members of the original SpaceX team and is a disruptive innovator that connects space startups with affordable and frequent launch and platforms to enable space capabilities at a speed and price point never before possible.  Vector has a big vision to reshape the 400 billion dollar space market by combining dedicated low-cost micro satellite launch and software defined satellites (Galactic Sky) to dramatically increase access and speed to orbit.

Vector Launch was a micro-satellite launch company focused on developing small rockets to carry microsatellites into orbit. The company's Vector-R rocket was designed to carry payloads of up to 45 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 25 kg into Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), with launches priced between USD 2-3 million each. The company's mission was to address complex national security challenges for the intelligence community, US Department of Defense, and other government agencies. Vector Launch utilized a transporter erector launcher (TEL) system that provided mobile spaceport capabilities for traditional horizontal launches, offering a distinct advantage in launch site flexibility. In August 2019, Vector Launch suspended operations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2019. Following bankruptcy, the company's rocket-launching assets were acquired by TLS Bidco, while Lockheed Martin purchased its satellite assets (GalacticSky) for USD 4.25 million in February 2020. Although Vector Launch attempted to restart operations in late 2020 under new leadership, the company ultimately ceased all business activities in January 2021.

Technology providers that enhance satellite operations

Next-gen Satellites

SEMPRE & Vector Launch Partner on Resilient Responsive and Flexible Launch System

Vector Launch was a micro-satellite launch company focused on developing small rockets to carry microsatellites into orbit. The company's Vector-R rocket was designed to carry payloads of up to 45 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 25 kg into Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), with launches priced between USD 2-3 million each. The company's mission was to address complex national security challenges for the intelligence community, US Department of Defense, and other government agencies. Vector Launch utilized a transporter erector launcher (TEL) system that provided mobile spaceport capabilities for traditional horizontal launches, offering a distinct advantage in launch site flexibility. In August 2019, Vector Launch suspended operations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2019. Following bankruptcy, the company's rocket-launching assets were acquired by TLS Bidco, while Lockheed Martin purchased its satellite assets (GalacticSky) for USD 4.25 million in February 2020. Although Vector Launch attempted to restart operations in late 2020 under new leadership, the company ultimately ceased all business activities in January 2021.

Vector to stay in Tucson to restart micro-satellite launch work

More info coming soon

Vector Launch Inc. To Restart, Remain ﻿in Tucson, Arizona

Vector Launch Inc. To Restart, Remain in Tucson, Arizona

Vector Aims To Be One of Two DoD Small Launch Firms

SpinLaunch is a space technology company developing a kinetic launch system to provide low-cost and high-frequency access to space. Unlike traditional fuel-based rockets, SpinLaunch's system utilizes a ground-based, electric-powered centrifuge to accelerate payloads to hypersonic speeds before releasing them into the atmosphere. Its solution is capable of putting 200 kg-class satellites into low orbit. The firm claims this method significantly reduces environmental impact by ~95% compared to conventional rocket launches. Its electric-drive Orbital accelerator offers a revolutionary approach to space travel and significantly reduces the fuel needed to reach orbit by 4x, mitigates costs by 10x, and enables multiple launches per day.Suborbital Accelerator operates at speeds between 800 miph and 5,000 miph, and primarily serves as a testing platform for the Orbital Launch System. It allows customers to conduct tests and serves as a facility for long-term satellite qualification. The company’s first major milestone was the successful test of its suborbital accelerator at Spaceport America in New Mexico in October 2021, where a projectile was launched tens of thousands of feet at 20% power capacity. SpinLaunch also planned to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit by 2026.SpinLaunch has also created a new type of highly affordable satellite. It claims that applying mass manufacturing techniques and simplifying the supply chain reduces costs without compromising performance. SpinLaunch’s satellites are specifically designed for mass accelerators but are also compatible with traditional launch systems and serve a variety of use cases, such as surveillance broadcasts, Internet of things (IoT), machine-to-machine communication (M2M), and emergency communication platforms.<h3>Key customers and partnerships</h3>In September 2023, SpinLaunch partnered with Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) for the global expansion of affordable and sustainable space services. SpinLaunch has also attracted significant interest and formed strategic partnerships with major organizations, including ATW Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and GV. In 2019, the Department of Defense signed a "launch prototype contract" with SpinLaunch to provide reliable and cost-effective launch services​.Funding and financialsIn September 2022, SpinLaunch secured USD 71 million in a Series B funding round led by ATW Partners to continue developing its launch system and satellite technologies​. In January 2020, the company raised USD 35 million from venture capitalists to aid the development of its kinetic launch system.

SpinLaunch

Rocket Lab is a global leader in launch services and space systems, offering a comprehensive range of solutions from satellite manufacturing to orbital launches. The company's primary launch vehicle, Electron, has become the second most frequently launched US rocket annually, having delivered over 190 satellites to orbit for various commercial and government partners. Electron is capable of carrying payloads of up to 300 kilograms to low Earth orbit. In addition to Electron, Rocket Lab has developed HASTE, a suborbital hypersonic launch vehicle.Rocket Lab is currently developing Neutron, an advanced 13-tonne payload class reusable launch vehicle designed for constellation deployment and interplanetary missions. The company successfully conducted the first hot fire test of its Archimedes engine in August 2024, which will power Neutron's first stage. Neutron's unique design encapsulates its second stage within a reusable first stage with an integrated payload fairing. Rocket Lab aims to launch Neutron by mid-2025, potentially marking the fastest time to market for a commercially developed medium-class launch vehicle.Beyond launch services, Rocket Lab has established itself as a premier supplier of advanced satellites, flight-proven subsystems, and spacecraft components. The company's technology spans various areas, including space solar power, composite structures, flight software, star trackers, reaction wheels, and separation systems. As of August 2024, Rocket Lab's satellite technology and components have been integrated into more than 1,700 satellite missions globally. In the second quarter of 2024, Rocket Lab reported record revenue of USD 106.3 million, representing a 71% year-over-year increase.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsRocket Lab has secured partnerships with several high-profile customers and organizations. The company has conducted multiple launches for NASA, including the CAPSTONE mission to the Moon in 2022 and the upcoming ESCAPADE mission to Mars. In August 2024, Rocket Lab delivered two spacecraft for the ESCAPADE mission to Cape Canaveral.Rocket Lab has also established a strong relationship with Capella Space, having completed five missions for the company since August 2020. In August 2024, Rocket Lab successfully launched Capella Space's Acadia-3 satellite, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, into orbit. Additionally, the company has partnered with the University of California Berkeley's Space Science Laboratory to build spacecraft for NASA missions. &nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35960">In November 2024</a>, Rocket Lab signed a multi-launch agreement with an undisclosed commercial satellite operator for its Neutron rocket.

Rocket Lab

D-Orbit, an Italy-based company, specializes in satellite deployment, in-space transportation, and in-orbit servicing through its ION Satellite Carrier. The ION reduces satellite deployment time by up to 85% and costs by 40%. By December 2024, D-Orbit had completed 13 missions, deploying 110 satellites and 44 hosted payloads. It was the world’s first B Corp-certified space company.D-Orbit delivers services covering satellite deployment, in-orbit maintenance, mission control, and advanced space solutions. Deployment options include Rideshare, which uses third-party launchers for standard orbits; Precision Deployment, which uses the ION Satellite Carrier to tailor orbital placements; and Constellation Deployment, which phases satellites into optimal positions. D-Orbit's Aurora cloud platform supports real-time telemetry monitoring, trajectory updates, telecommands, and 3D visualization, enabling operators to manage satellites efficiently or delegate control to D-Orbit to streamline operations.In-orbit services encompass transportation, lifetime extension, assembly, refurbishment, debris removal, and inspection. Advanced offerings include the ION Hosted Payload Service for technology testing, in-orbit data computing via D-Orbit Cloud, and a SaaS model. The IRIDE constellation project, financed by Italy’s National Plan for Recovery and Resilience and supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Italian Space Agency (ASI), aims to provide Earth observation data for public services like marine monitoring, air quality, and climate analysis. Launches were planned from 2025 to 2026.The company also offers satellite hardware and software, such as the AOCS Suite for satellite control, the D-Sense module for positioning, and systems like D-Raise for propulsion and D3 for satellite disposal.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsD-Orbit's customer base includes ESA, ASI, Planet Labs, Spaceflight, Ensign-Bickford Aerospace &amp; Defense (EBAD), the University of Southern California, Brown University, and TelePIX from South Korea.Early partnerships by the company included&nbsp;<a href="https://spacenews.com/d-orbit-launches-two-ion-satellite-carrier-on-its-seventh-orbital-transportation-mission/#:~:text=D%2DOrbit%20launched%20its%20first,more%20than%2090%20payloads%20collectively.">SpaceX</a> for deploying ION Satellite Carrier missions and collaborations with&nbsp;<a href="https://spacenews.com/d-orbit-launches-aurora-a-cloud-based-mission-control-software-suite/">Leaf Space and AWS</a> Ground Station to enhance the Aurora platform's global mission control. Significant partnerships also included&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/07/starfish-space-and-d-orbit-complete-orbital-rendezvous-bringing-otter-pup-mission-to-a-close/">Starfish Space</a> for orbital rendezvous,&nbsp;<a href="https://spacenews.com/d-orbit-signs-agreement-with-hyimpulse-technologies-for-joint-eu-based-launch-and-deployment-mission/">HyImpulse Technologies</a> for EU-based satellite launch and deployment services,&nbsp;<a href="https://metasensing.com/metasensing-selected-to-provide-the-sar-payload-sensor-for-the-nox-mission-in-italys-iride-constellation/">MetaSensing</a> for supporting ESA's IRIDE Earth observation project, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/D_Orbit_and_SkyServe_enhance_satellite_analytics_with_new_edge_computing_platform_999.html">SkyServe STORM</a> for utilizing Edge computing in space-based data processing.In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/34798">October 2024</a>, ESA awarded D-Orbit a contract to develop a spacecraft-servicing vehicle for geostationary satellites and in&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/36352">November 2024</a>, D-Orbit partnered with Morpheus Space to demonstrate the GO-2 electric propulsion system aboard its orbital transfer vehicle.&nbsp;

D-Orbit

Phantom Space Corporation is a space services company providing all-in-one capabilities for satellite manufacturing and launch services to commercial and government clients.Phantom Space caters to launch services primarily using its launch vehicle, Daytona Rocket, which is a two-stage system designed to carry payloads of up to 450 kg, including satellites and other space cargo into low-Earth orbit (LEO), for less than USD 4 million per launch. In addition to the Daytona, Phantom Space was developing the larger Laguna rocket, scheduled for launch in 2025, to be powered by a combination of Ripley and Hadley engines produced by Ursa Major to increase payload capacity to 1,200 kg for LEO missions at USD 8 million per launch.In November 2022, the company achieved a major milestone by conducting a successful 60-second hot fire test of the Daytona's Pathfinder test stage at Spaceport America in New Mexico, validating approximately 75% of the vehicle's systems in a flight-realistic condition.The company also provides solutions for designing, manufacturing, and operating small satellites, ranging from single CubeSats to constellations of ESPA-class spacecraft. As of May 2024, Phantom Space had 46 satellite and spacecraft programs successfully executed, while three were currently in progress.As of June 2023, the company aimed to offer affordable access to space through its proprietary rocket and satellite designs. To this end, Phantom Space aimed to employ mass production techniques to reduce costs and increase the frequency of space access for government and commercial entities. Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2023, Phantom Space signed a launch services agreement with Quub, a satellite manufacturer, for three dedicated launches in 2025.In November 2022, Phantom Space secured task orders from NASA for the agency's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) missions program. The orders involved launching four CubeSat satellites on the second and fourth Daytona rocket flights from Vandenberg Space Force Base, planned for 2024.

Phantom Space

The Beyond Earth Institute is a space policy think tank focused on human spaceflight established in 2010. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a mission to establish and sustain policy and legal frameworks that enable economically vibrant communities beyond Earth. The institute conducts primary and secondary research to develop and publicize reports and policy recommendations throughout space policy communities in the US and internationally. Their work centers on catalyzing technology readiness, worldwide public support, and public policies needed to achieve a permanent human presence in space. The organization's research and policy efforts particularly focus on enabling long-term human settlement beyond Earth and developing the cislunar economy.
Key customers and partnerships
Beyond Earth has collaborated with Space Perspective. In January 2023, the organization worked with Japanese space company ispace to support their Hakuto-R moon lander mission, which launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Beyond Earth

Companies that offer launch capabilities to get satellites into orbit, including last-mile delivery of satellites and value-added services including launch mission planning and execution

Companies that provide satellite management services once they are deployed

Includes companies that develop satellite buses and payloads for mini, micro and nano systems

Companies that manufacture components for mini, micro, nano, and picosatellite systems

Satellite companies that offer location-based intelligence, navigation, mapping, spatial awareness, and data analytics services

Use of autonomous robotics in the production process, specially in the miniature satellite segments

Vector Launch

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