Spaceflight Industries, a next-generation space company dedicated to democratizing access to space, today announced it has secured $18 million of Series B financing led by technology growth investor Mithril Capital Management of San Francisco, in a round that is expected to raise up to $25 million. The company also announced it has acquired Herndon, Virginia-based OpenWhere, Inc. to further enhance and execute on its BlackSky geospatial data platform for satellite imagery.
Previous investors in Spaceflight Industries, including RRE Venture Capital, Vulcan Capital and Razor’s Edge Ventures, all reinvested in the round, bringing the company’s total funding to $53.5 million. As part of the financing, Ajay Royan, co-founder and managing general partner of Mithril, has joined the Spaceflight Industries Board of Directors.
“Half a century ago, the photograph Earthrise gave humanity a breakthrough view of our planet,” said Royan. “By helping partners to easily put advanced hardware in the sky and bring pixels back to earth, and by making space data intuitive to access, Spaceflight has built a breakthrough platform that will take our worldview to the next level. The company doesn’t just make space technology, it makes space technology efficient and easy to use. Its space-as-a-service infrastructure lowers the activation energy for all space innovators, from launch to analysis, making Spaceflight the lynchpin of the emerging space ecosystem.”
Jason Andrews, CEO of Spaceflight Industries, added, “We’re fortunate to work with such a prestigious venture team like Mithril that operates on the frontiers of innovation, while helping to solve important real world problems. The additional financing will help us execute on additional strategic initiatives, including this acquisition of OpenWhere. Not only does it further differentiate BlackSky, it vastly expands the community of who can benefit from monitoring our planet in near real time to all commercial industries, academics, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. We welcome them all to join the growing network on the platform.”
Initially launched in June 2015, the BlackSky geospatial data platform will deliver near real-time images of the planet to customers at a price unmatched in the industry. With a planned constellation of 60 imaging satellites orbiting the Earth, BlackSky has the ability to pass over key zones hourly – not daily or weekly – making the images fresher to provide a more comprehensive story. BlackSky is on track to deploy six satellites by 2017 and complete the 60-satellite imaging constellation by 2020. The first two Pathfinder satellites will launch this year as key demonstration models for the platform.
“One of our core value propositions is the ease of use of the BlackSky platform and this is where OpenWhere shines,” said Andrews. “Customers are looking for a modern and intuitive system that they can operate with ease to receive high-quality images, and OpenWhere’s platform offers a compelling user experience that reimagines interaction with satellite imaging. We’re thrilled to have the entire team’s expertise, talent and insight on board to help us achieve our very aggressive goals.”
In April, BlackSky announced an agreement with the United Nations to leverage the information collected from satellite images to enhance global decision making and support country-level initiatives. Together, the partnership teams United Nations Institute for Training and Research and BlackSky will explore how imaging can be applied to humanitarian relief, human security, climate change adaptation, sustainable water management, territorial management, high priority peace-keeping missions, monitoring of illegal maritime activity, and more.
Furthermore, Spaceflight is the first launch services provider to be awarded a GSA Schedule Contract which enables federal agencies to quickly and easily secure small satellite launch contracts completely online at a pre-negotiated fixed rate. This in turn reduces administrative costs and overhead and potentially increases how frequently the agencies access space.
About Spaceflight Industries:
Dedicated to opening space access to everyone, Spaceflight Industries’ distinct approach removes the complexities and high cost that once prohibited the majority of organizations from reaching space. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries Spaceflight and BlackSky, the company offers innovative satellite infrastructure, rideshare capabilities, global communications networks, and near real-time imaging capabilities. Founded by aerospace engineer and entrepreneur Jason Andrews (as Andrews Space) in 1999, today the Seattle-based company has a well-earned track record of success on a global scale. Visit www.spaceflightindustries.comfor more information.
About Mithril Capital Management
Mithril is a global investment firm that provides capital to leading growth companies. We partner with teams who use technology to build valuable and lasting businesses, often in industries long overdue for change. Each of these businesses is unique, but all face common challenges to unlocking long-term growth. We help navigate these critical inflection points, and we invest in size and with conviction. Visit www.mithril.com for more information.
About RRE Venture Capital
RRE Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in New York City. Since its founding in late 1994, the firm has sought out and partnered with extraordinary entrepreneurs who seek to disrupt and transform industries. For more information, please visit www.rre.com.
About Vulcan Capital
Vulcan Capital is the multibillion dollar investment arm of Vulcan Inc., the company founded by Paul G. Allen to manage his philanthropic and business endeavors. The firm invests across all stages of corporate development including venture capital, growth equity and leveraged buyouts as well as investing in public equities and other liquid asset classes. Vulcan Capital’s current portfolio spans a range of industry sectors, including technology, Internet, mobile, life sciences, energy and natural resources, media and communications, and financial and information services. For more information, please visit www.capital.vulcan.com.
About Razor’s Edge Ventures
Razor’s Edge is a venture capital fund based in Herndon, Virginia founded by a group of entrepreneurs and executives from the national security industry. Razor’s Edge invests in, and partners with, private technology companies serving the national security market exclusively or in combination with other commercial and government markets. The Fund has a unique understanding of the national security community’s strategic priorities, and works tirelessly to identify and deliver disruptive technologies capable of advancing critical mission needs. For more information, visit www.razorsvc.com.
