MENLO TIMES

Slingshot Aerospace , powering the future of space, led by Tim Solms, Julio Pekarovic, Andrea Powers, Kelli Furrer, Erik Ekwurzel, Dr. Adrian Thompson, and others, has earned  a $27 million contract to modernize scenario training activities.   Under the contract, Slingshot will advance the Space Force’s Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) program by integrating existing training capabilities with AI-native technology designed to accurately replicate today’s ra

Aule Space , building the robotic workforce for the space economy, led by Jay Panchal, Nithyaa Giri, and Hrishit Tambi, has secured  $2 million in pre-seed funding led by pi Ventures , with participation from a clutch of angel investors, including Eash Sundaram, former Board Member of Intelsat and Founder of Utpata Ventures, and Arvind Lakshmikumar, CEO of defence tech company Tonbo Imaging , among others. Aule Space has been part of the Entrepreneurs First  accelerator progr

ThinkOrbital Inc. , constructing and defending the critical infrastructure required for a thriving space economy, led by Colonel Lee Rosen, USAF, Ret. and Vojtech Holub, Ph.D., has announced  the successful close of its Seed Round, led by TFX Capital .   The new funding accelerates development of technologies that will shape on-orbit defense and operations, from spacecraft inspection using Space-to-Space X-ray to asset servicing and large-scale orbital infrastructure. With na

SkyFi , an AI-first Earth intelligence platform, led by Luke Fischer, Bill Perkins, and others, has raised  a $12.7 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round co-led by Buoyant Ventures  and IronGate Capital Advisors , with new participation from DNV Ventures , TFX Capital , Beyond Earth Ventures , Nova Threshold , and Chris Morisoli, and existing investors RSquared VC  and J2 Ventures . The investment will fuel faster product development and strengthen SkyFi’s techn

Diffraqtion , an MIT and University of Maryland spinout building the next generation of visual AI hardware and software to make satellites and machines see further and think faster, led by Johannes Galatsanos, Christine Yi-Ting Wang, Saikat Guha, Mark Michael, and others, has raised its pre-seed funding round, led by QDNL Participations , with participation from milemark•capital , Aether VC , ADIN, Offline Ventures , and a non-dilutive DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract su

Aegis Aerospace Inc. , a leader in space and defense technology led by Stephanie Murphy , and others, has announced  a groundbreaking partnership with United Semiconductors LLC to pioneer semiconductor manufacturing in space. This collaboration follows Aegis Aerospace’s recent grant from the Texas Space Commission to develop an in-space manufacturing platform for advanced materials in low Earth orbit (LEO). “We’re excited to partner with United Semiconductors,” said Stephanie

Array Labs , designing, building, and operating the world’s most advanced radar satellites, led by Andrew Peterson, Jose Isaac Robledo, and others, has announced  a $20M Series A financing led by Catapult Ventures , with participation from Washington Harbour Partners , Kompas VC , and other new and existing investors, including Y Combinator , Maiora Capital ,  Animal Capital , Aera VC , Cultivation Capital , and Clearance Ventures , bringing Array’s total funding to $35M sinc

ICEYE , building actionable intelligence for resilience, readiness & response, led by Rafal Modrzewski, Pekka Laurila, and Eric Jensen, and Rheinmetall , an integrated technology group, led by Armin Papperger, have received  a major order from the German Armed Forces for the space sector. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has commissioned Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions to provide the German Armed Forces with

Southern Launch , provider of bespoke space mission services including orbital launch, suborbital missions, orbital re-entries, and range services, led by Lloyd Damp, Rebecca Darcey, Tori Murray, and others, and Lux Aeterna , building the world’s first fleet of reusable satellites to transform the future of space operations for defense, intelligence, commercial, and in-space manufacturing customers, led by Brian Taylor, have signed  a contract to conduct orbital re-entries of

Kuva Space , empowering decision-makers with actionable planetary intelligence through innovative space and AI technology, led by Jarkko Antila, Jerry Welsh, Tuomas Tikka, and others, has partnered  with the WWF-Indonesia (WWF-Indonesia) to launch an initiative that uses satellite data and AI to monitor and quantify Indonesia’s vast blue carbon assets. The collaboration will map seagrass and mangrove habitats in East Nusa Tenggara and East Kalimantan, creating scalable data f

Odin Space , securing the future of space by developing advanced space debris detection and orbital mapping, led by James New and Dan Terrett, has secured  $3 million led by Steel Atlas , with participation from Iron Prairie , Tiny VC , and Cur8 Capital , and several other funds/angels. The funding will accelerate Odin’s mission to enhance space safety by enabling spacecraft operators, manufacturers, and space agencies to more accurately predict and monitor hazardous sub-cent

Shield AI , a deeptech company protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems, led by Gary Steele, Ryan Tseng, ex-Navy Seal Brandon Tseng, Nathan Michael, and others, and Sedaro , powering the future of aerospace & defense with mission simulation at scale, led by Daniel Martin, Robbie Robertson, PhD, and others, have announced  a strategic partnership to advance autonomous operations in orbit. The partnership designates Shield AI’s Hivemind Pilot as the pri

Moonshot Space , an Israeli startup building an affordable, on-demand delivery system for space infrastructure, led by Hilla Haddad Chmelnik, Fred Simon, and Shahar Bahiri, has emerged  from stealth with $12 million in funding to continue the development of a launch system, powered by electromagnetism. Moonshot plans to offer A&D primes its technology as a hypersonic test platform, while progressively developing capabilities to provide orbital launch services for companies se

Spaceium , building a network of in-space refueling and repair stations, led by Ashi Dissanayake and Reza Fetanat, launched  its first in-space demonstration hardware, a precision robotic actuator for autonomous propellant transfer in orbit on SpaceX’s Transporter-15 mission, hosted aboard D-orbit’s ION spacecraft. Spaceium was founded to make in-space refueling a reality. Orbital fuel replenishment is the key to unlocking a larger, more sustainable space economy. For decades

BlackSky , accelerating earth observation from space for real-time monitoring, led by Brian O’Toole, Henry Dubois, Chris Lin, Lyn Chassagne, Nick Merski, Patrick O’Neil, and Kevin Rioles, has delivered  the first very high-resolution  images  from the company’s third  Gen-3  satellite less than 24   hours following the satellite’s successful launch in November. The company’s advanced, low-latency commercial architecture is providing decision-grade data at real-time, mission-r

Orbit Fab , building in-space fuel delivery infrastructure, led by Daniel Faber, Shawn Hendricks, and others, has announced  its latest milestone toward refuelling satellites in orbit. The company will deliver the Advancing Satcom Technology with Refuelling and Logistics (ASTRAL) project with a total UK funding of up to $3.8m (€3.3m). The contract for the first stage of the mission, worth £1.3m (€1.1m), has now been awarded to Orbit Fab by ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommu

Redwire , a global leader in space and defense technology solutions, led by Peter Cannito, Jonathan Baliff, Al Tadros, and others, has been awarded  a $44 million phase 2 contract to advance the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA)  Otter  Very Low Earth Orbit ( VLEO ) mission to demonstrate the world’s first air-breathing spacecraft and advance next-generation orbital capabilities. The Phase 2 contract funds the completion of manufacturing and the delivery of

Revolv Space , redefining small satellite capabilities through reliable and affordable space mechanisms and power systems, led by Marco Sala, Michal Grendysz, Filippo Oggionni, and Aleksander Fiuk, has announced  the launch of MARA, its next-generation Solar Array Drive Assembly (SADA) for medium-sized platforms and constellations. MARA delivers up to 5.2 kW per unit, bridging the gap between basic body-mounted arrays and costly legacy SADAs with a fully integrated, reliable,

Quindar , bringing cloud-native thinking to space operations, led by Nate Hamet, Sunny Bhagavathula, David Lawrence, Zach Meza, Shaishav Parekh, and Matt Regan, has secured $18M in Series A funding led by  Washington Harbour Partners  with continued investment from  Booz Allen Ventures , FUSE , FCVC , and Y Combinator . The new funding will support the development of a state-of-the-art classified facility in the Denver area, expand commercial integrations, and grow the workfo

Infinite Orbits , pushing the boundaries of in-orbit services with cutting-edge spacecraft driven by its own Rendez-Vous solution, an advanced Autonomous Vision-Based Navigation Solution, led by Adel Haddoud, Akshay Gulati, Manos Koumantakis, Marion Andrieux, Yasmin Hassan, and Jürgen Eisenbraun, has raised  a €40 million financing round from European Innovation Council Fund , along with Matterwave Ventures , Wind Capital , Balnord , IRDI , and Newfund Capital . This financin