Fresh off a $95 million Series B funding round, Apex will use its productized platform to expand its family of satellite buses and manufacture them at scale.
LOS ANGELES—A recent $95 million Series B funding round will help spacecraft manufacturing company Apex scale up production of its U.S.-made, productized (standardized) satellite buses. Apex announced the funding in June, stating in a release that it planned to open a new factory that will enable the company to “dramatically step up production.”
The funding round follows a series of milestones attained by the manufacturer, including numerous U.S. Department of Defense direct contracts and multiple bus sales across government and commercial customers. The most recent was NASA’s use of an Apex bus-powered Earth science mission. In March, the company successfully launched its first bus, Aries SN1, now on orbit supporting several payloads. According to Apex, Aries SN1 “represents the fastest build of any production small satellite bus.”
Traditional buses are custom built for every spacecraft, adding months or years to the process of getting payloads on orbit. By producing productized satellite buses, Apex said it allows customers to get to space faster, without the need for a bespoke (customized) bus for every launch.
“The West cannot achieve the capabilities we need in space at the necessary scale and speed without a productized approach to powering and supporting satellites,” said Apex CEO and Founder Ian Cinnamon, in the release. “Coming on the heels of our first launch and numerous bus sales to commercial, government, and international customers, this fundraise is a vote of confidence in Apex’s vision and success.
“This new funding will help us both expand our family of productized satellite buses and produce them at industry-leading scale,” he continued. “Today’s aerospace and defense industries are hungry for solutions they can deploy in mass, and we’re here and ready to meet their needs.”
Apex described satellite buses as “the core set of components of any spacecraft, allowing it to move around, communicate, provide power, and more.” Payloads such as sensors or radios are attached to the satellite bus, enabling customers to accomplish their unique missions. By creating a productized bus standard, Apex said it “eliminates the need for highly customized satellite buses for each spacecraft.”
According to Apex, its productized satellite bus standard enables it to produce buses faster. It also addresses a huge bottleneck in the industry by helping customers deploy and launch faster. As a result, Apex has secured orders from a range of customers, including top-tier prime contractors, the company said in the release.
“At XYZ, we’re constantly looking at the trends shaping defense, public sector, and aerospace needs, and it was clear to us that Apex was set up to serve truly momentous demand,” said XYZ Venture Capital Managing Partner Ross Fubini, in the release. “Without the satellite-building capabilities Apex brings to the market, it would be impossible for this country to stay ahead of its security and commercial space goals. That’s why we’ve been so bullish from the earliest stage.”
According to Apex, its bus technology is more essential than ever as the U.S. Department of Defense and other customers set ambitious goals to launch thousands of new satellites. In addition to building new product lines and manufacturing at scale, Apex said it is also planning to “hire the best talent working in both tech and aerospace and will be hiring for a number of roles this year.”
The funding round was led by XYZ Venture Capital, an early investor in the company, and co-led by CRV, alongside new investors Upfront, 8VC, Toyota Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Mirae Asset Capital, Outsiders Fund, and GSBackers.
Existing investors that participated in the round include Andreessen Horowitz, Shield Capital, J2 Ventures, and Ravelin, as well as angels Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, and Avalon Capital Group, a private investment company founded by Ted Waitt, co-founder of Gateway, Inc., the release said.
“Traditional bus manufacturing has become a bottleneck that inhibits humanity’s ability to get necessary capabilities on orbit; from the essentials for everyday operations to cutting-edge technology,” said CRV General Partner Brittany Walker, in the release. “Apex removes that bottleneck for legacy payload providers and those looking to make their mark in space.”