Varda Space Announces $187 Million in Series C Funding to Make Medicines in Space

Led by Will Bruey (CEO & Co-Founder), Delian Asparouhov (Co-Founder, President, and Chairman), Jon Barr(COO), and others, Varda Space has announced its Series C funding round led by Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, with participation from Founders Fund, Peter Thiel, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Lux Capital, and Also Capital.

Varda has completed three successful orbital missions since its 2023 debut, with a fourth in orbit and a fifth upcoming. As the first to process materials outside the ISS, Varda’s space labs enable novel drug formulations by leveraging microgravity’s unique effects on crystallization, marking a major step toward commercializing low Earth orbit.

Beyond space-based manufacturing, Varda operates a hypersonic testbed using its W-series reentry vehicles, reaching Mach 25 to support government tech development in areas like thermal protection and navigation. On Earth, the company has expanded with a new office in Huntsville and a 10,000 sq. ft. lab in El Segundo focused on crystallizing biologics like monoclonal antibodies—part of a $210B+ market. A seasoned pharma team now leads this next phase of development.