Northwood Space Raises $100 Million Series B, Lands $49 Million Space Force Deal

Northwood Space, an end-to-end ground infrastructure provider for space missions that push the boundaries on the possible, led by Bridgit Mendler, Griffin Cleverly, Shaurya Luthra, and others, has raised a $100 million Series B funding round, led by Washington D.C.-based firm Washington Harbour Partners and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz. Northwood has secured a $49.8 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to upgrade the “satellite control network,” which manages critical government space missions, including GPS satellite tracking and control, CEO Bridgit Mendler said.

The funding round and government contract mark major milestones for the young company, which closed its $30 million Series A less than a year ago. With a strong interest in space, hard tech, and defense, Mendler said the company is positioned to grow responsibly and quickly. “Yes, this is happening faster than we thought, two fundraises in the same year, and large sums of capital, but that’s really what we’re ready for from a production standpoint,” she added.

Mendler said the new capital will help Northwood meet growing demand, marking an “inflection point” for the business. She explained that customers frequently approach the company for ground solutions, and the funding ensures resource constraints won’t limit support for these missions. Part of Northwood’s attention stems from its novel approach: building smaller, phased-array antenna systems that can support or replace older, larger dish-based systems, all as a vertically integrated solution.

Mendler sees growing satellite data volumes as a key opportunity. She explained that tackling the entire ground station problem in-house is complex, requiring significant risk, capital, and diverse expertise. “Our bet is that if we can think about ground holistically under one roof, it produces a ton of value for the industry,” she said. While companies like SpaceX and Amazon operate their own ground stations, other players often rely on third-party providers with limited capacity, creating demand for Northwood’s integrated approach.

Northwood CTO Griffin Cleverly highlighted that the new funding will help the company scale capacity for customers expanding from a few satellites to large constellations. Currently, Northwood’s portal sites handle eight satellite links, but by the end of 2027, next-generation ground stations are expected to manage 10–12 links each, with the overall network capable of communicating with hundreds of satellites. The Space Force contract underscores the appeal of Northwood’s solution, particularly as the SCN has faced capacity challenges for over a decade, according to a 2023 GAO report.

The 2023 GAO report noted that satellite users relying on the SCN warned that rising demand and limited system availability could jeopardize future missions.