Astranis announced it raised $450 million in new capital to accelerate production of its high-orbit spacecraft and expand support for commercial and U.S. government satellite programs. The financing brings the company’s total funding to more than $1.2 billion.
The funding package includes a new $300 million Series E financing round co-led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton. Additional participants included Andreessen Horowitz, affiliates of BlackRock, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, BAM Elevate, Nimble Partners, Friends & Family Capital, and other existing and new investors.
Astranis also secured a delayed-draw credit facility from Trinity Capital that provides up to an additional $155 million to support manufacturing expansion and future growth initiatives.
The company said the new capital will be used to accelerate satellite production for commercial customers and scale operations to support major U.S. government programs as the U.S. Space Force increases investment in national security space infrastructure.
Astranis said it has already been selected for the initial phase of multiple U.S. Department of Defense Programs of Record as a prime contractor, including Protected Tactical Satcom-Global, Resilient GPS, and Andromeda.
The company said demand for dedicated communications infrastructure continues to increase among enterprises and governments seeking secure, sovereign-controlled satellite networks instead of shared geostationary communications satellites. Astranis recently announced new satellite projects with Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan and MB Group in Oman that are scheduled to launch later this year.
Astranis currently has five satellites in orbit and said it maintains a backlog exceeding $1 billion in commercial contracts. The company designs, builds, and operates satellites for enterprises, sovereign governments, and the U.S. military from its Northern California headquarters.
KEY QUOTES:
“The world is more contested and volatile than it once was. Sovereign, secure communications infrastructure is more critical than ever. 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.”
John Gedmark, CEO And Co-Founder, Astranis
“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 US government missions.”
Alexander Creasey, General Partner, 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.”
James Cross, Managing Director, Franklin Templeton
“Astranis’s capacity to design, manufacture, and operate satellites for critical enterprise and national security needs makes them a leader in their field. We’re honored to support them as they scale.”
Ryan Little, Senior Managing Director, Trinity Capital
