On May 6, Astranis announced it has raised $450 million in new capital, bringing the company’s total raised to more than $1.2 billion as it scales to meet increased demand for its spacecraft designed for geostationary orbit (GEO) and other high orbits.
The funding includes a new $300 million Series E round co-led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, funds and accounts managed by affiliates of BlackRock, Baillie Gifford, and Fidelity Management & Research Company, as well as BAM Elevate, Nimble Partners, and Friends & Family Capital, along with other existing and new investors.
A delayed-draw credit facility by Trinity Capital adds up to $155 million of additional capital to support the addition of new manufacturing capacity and support future growth.
Astranis will use the new funding to accelerate satellite production for its commercial customers and scale up to support major U.S. government programs of record, as the U.S. Space Force expects one of the largest budget increases ever seen by a service branch. The increase to $71.1 billion next year is in direct response to new space threats posed by adversaries China and Russia.
“The world is more contested and volatile than it once was. Sovereign, secure communications infrastructure is more critical than ever,” said John Gedmark, CEO and co-founder of Astranis. “We built Astranis to deliver satellites at speed and at scale. This capital accelerates our ability to meet demand from our commercial customer base around the world, and importantly we are now spooling up to support multiple US Government programs of record simultaneously.”
“GEO is the single most important orbit for national security, and that’s the orbit where we are seeing the largest need for new capability by Space Force. We’re excited to support Astranis as they scale and accelerate delivery for these important U.S. government missions,” said Alexander Creasey, general partner at Snowpoint Ventures.
“Astranis has an incredible track record of having actually flown full-capability satellites in higher orbits in a way that no other company has done. They are uniquely positioned to deliver sovereign, secure communications infrastructure that the world needs. This investment reflects our conviction in both the opportunity and the team,” said James Cross, managing director at Franklin Templeton.
Source: Astranis
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