Northwood Raises $375 Million to Build the Network Connecting Satellites to Earth

Northwood, building a global ground network for the future of space communications, led by Bridgit Mendler, Griffin Cleverly, Shaurya Luthra, and the team, has closed a $375 million Series C financing round. The funding will accelerate delivery on existing contracts, talent acquisition, and the buildout of Northwood’s global ground network for commercial, U.S. government, and allied space missions. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and DFJ Growth co-led the round, with substantial follow-on investment from Washington Harbour Partners, who led the Series B, Alpine Space Ventures, Stepstone, In-Q-Tel (IQT), and others. A separate multi-year credit facility from HSBC Innovation Banking will also support working capital and network expansion.

Since its Series B less than nine months ago, Northwood has deployed six multi-orbit-capable sites across two continents, demonstrated geosynchronous command capabilities using a commercial phased array in live tests, and developed and launched a high-throughput antenna system.

The company also opened a 185,000-square-foot headquarters and factory in Torrance, expanding its manufacturing footprint more than fivefold. Its customer base has grown across U.S. government agencies, commercial new-space operators, and traditional satellite operators.

“The world is hungry for more data movement through space and that is what Northwood is building for with scalable network capacity for the most challenging use cases.” said Bridgit Mendler, co-founder and CEO of Northwood. “We look forward to growing the business with new and existing capital partners as we scale production and expand the network.”

“We’ve backed Northwood in every round since seed because we believe ground infrastructure is essential to making space infrastructure more abundant," said Katherine Boyle, board director of Northwood and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. "Northwood is building the ground network of the future and has become an indispensable partner to government and commercial customers alike.”

“What goes up must come down … this is a universal truth of sending data to and from space-based networks. Northwood plays an essential role in an oft-forgotten, yet critical segment, of that ecosystem — purpose-built to ensure mission-critical signals are delivered to and from satcom constellations reliably and securely. Northwood has emerged from a raw startup to a new-generation leader over the past year, changing the game with innovation and speed of execution to quickly surpass legacy incumbents," according to Randy Glein, Founder and Managing Partner at DFJ Growth. “Northwood's advanced phased array technologies, innovative systems, and vertically-integrated manufacturing approach are delivering robust capabilities to demanding commercial and government customers. We are thrilled to join the team at Northwood!”

The Ground Has Become the Bottleneck.

The number of active satellites has grown from around 3,000 in 2020 to more than 14,000 by the end of 2025, with tens of thousands more projected by 2030. As satellite networks expand across orbits, demand for ground infrastructure is increasing.

Meeting this demand requires systems that can serve multiple satellites simultaneously, support multiple orbits, and be deployed in months rather than years. Northwood is developing this infrastructure to support missions spanning satellite communications, Earth observation, national security, and cislunar exploration.

A Space Network Built Like Infrastructure.

Northwood designs and manufactures its own modular antennas in Torrance, California. Its Portal phased arrays handle satellite command and control, while Prism high-throughput dishes support payload data. At full production, the company expects to manufacture hundreds of antennas annually. Each system ships via standard freight and requires only flat ground, power, and fiber to operate.

Proprietary software combines multiple antennas into larger effective apertures. In a recent milestone, Northwood arrayed 10 Portal antennas to match the receive performance of a 20-foot dish. Its API allows satellite operators to search, reserve, update, and cancel network passes, while dedicated Mission Architects support customers from initial discussions through deployment.

By controlling the full stack, from antenna hardware and site development to scheduling software, Northwood lets operators access shared ground infrastructure without investing millions in dedicated stations. Standardized, modular systems also accelerate deployment: new sites can be built in three months, while antennas can go from truck arrival to live links in three to four hours.

Northwood also sells its antenna systems directly to select customers, offering the same hardware used across its shared network.

Momentum Since the Series B.

Multi-orbit capabilities, from LEO to GEO. Northwood demonstrated its multi-orbit capabilities through a prototype for the U.S. Space Force, providing dedicated satellite command capacity as a service to geostationary orbit. The demonstration included a full-duplex link to a government GEO satellite using a Northwood Portal phased array, building on earlier LEO demonstrations.

High-throughput connectivity. Northwood launched Prism, a parabolic dish designed for multi-gigabit links. Together with Portal, Prism will expand the network toward global coverage, with sites targeting 100+ Gbps capacity in high-demand regions by the end of 2027.

Production at scale. Opened in September 2026, Northwood’s new 185,000-square-foot headquarters and factory in Torrance will manufacture hundreds of antennas and other components annually across dedicated production lines.

Customer expansion. The company has secured new customers and contracts across U.S. government agencies, commercial new-space operators, and traditional satellite operators.

Team growth. Northwood now has more than 140 employees and plans to create 400 additional jobs in Torrance and Washington, DC, over the next three years, spanning RF engineering, manufacturing, software, and site operations.

Northwood plans further site and network expansions in the first half of 2027 as it continues rebuilding the infrastructure for moving data to, through, and from orbit.