Varda Announces $251 Million Series D to Scale Space-Based Pharmaceutical Processing

Varda, a microgravity-enabled life sciences company that processes materials in orbit and returns them to Earth, led by Will Bruey, Delian Asparouhov, and Jon Barr, has announced a Series D fundraising round today, bringing the total amount of capital raised by the microgravity-enabled life sciences company to $598 million. The $251 million fundraise was led by Lux Capital and Natural Capital, with participation from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, 8090 Industries, Giant Step, and Also Capital.

The first products manufactured in space for use on Earth are expected to be pharmaceuticals. Microgravity enables materials such as active pharmaceutical ingredients to crystallize in ways that are difficult or impossible to replicate on Earth, potentially enabling new drug formulations. The company is working to make in-space pharmaceutical processing a reliable part of the drug development pipeline.

"In-space manufacturing means building what space needs, in space, and making what Earth can't. Varda is making life-saving drugs impossible to make under gravity. It's the first and only company delivering a real cadence of launches and re-entries, with capsules built to manufacture the impossible and return it home," said Shahin Farshchi, Partner at Lux Capital.

Building Toward the First Medicine Made in Space.

Decades of ISS research have demonstrated the potential of microgravity for producing pharmaceutical formulations that are difficult or impossible to create on Earth. Varda is developing the launch, reentry, and pharmaceutical infrastructure needed to commercialize this capability.

Since its first mission in 2023, Varda has completed six reentry missions, with more than a dozen additional launches and reentries planned through 2028. Its W-Series vehicles are designed to return materials and data from orbit to Earth, supporting repeatable in-space manufacturing and recovery.

As launch activity increases, reliable reentry and return capabilities are becoming an increasingly important part of the space manufacturing ecosystem.

"We started Varda with the conviction that the first product manufactured in space and consumed on Earth would be a pharmaceutical," said Varda co-founder and President Delian Asparouhov. "This round gives us the resources to increase our cadence, deepen our pharmaceutical partnerships, and get closer to delivering the first medicine made in space."

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