Taliesin Space Ecosystem Recap — September 2019
Despite (or maybe because of) growing instability among legacy space companies and elevated economic uncertainty, space industry funding recovered from the August low with $112M invested in 13 startups in September.
For the full list of this month’s space investments — and some background on them, scroll down!
What We’re Thinking About
With markets in turmoil and recent increases in government spending tied closely to a partisan issues — going into an uncertain election cycle, we’ve been thinking a lot about how the Space ecosystem will fair during a recession (or long period of stagnation). Below are some of the most common themes that have carried throughout our discussions.
- A drop in traditional government spending might not have as big an impact as it did in the past given growing private investment.
- Cheap, abundant capital resulting from exits on the way down as well as recession mitigation policies could result in increased investment in alternative investments like venture capital.
- New ventures in the space ecosystem may benefit from decreased competitive pressure — assuming the recession impacts legacy aerospace firms and satellite industry companies.
- Similarly, we may see increased labor availability if the recession effects space industry companies and big enough to result in layoffs/failures.
- Heightened defense focused spending by the U.S. Space Force and other defense stakeholders due to elevated importance of orbital communications and surveillance infrastructure (and increasing availability of anti-satellite tech)
In summary, we view the future with measured optimism. While an unfavorable economic environment poses significant risk for nearly all emerging industries, we think that given the shift towards increased private and defense funding in recent years, a recession may actually accelerate growth, rather than stifle it.
Highlights
Funding Trends
Funding this month totaled $112M, which primarily went into early stage companies in the following company segments.
This Month’s Funding Rounds
Astrocast
Astrocast offers a bidirectional and highly secure connection to any #IoT device on Earth, in a few minutes.
Ambisense
Our world-leading system of intelligence automates, analyses and accelerates environmental risk assessment
Ecopia Tech
Ecopia Tech Corporation creates intelligent systems that improve the process of analyzing geospatial imagery.
FleetSpace
We provide direct, global access to a secure low-cost low-bandwidth connectivity platform ideal for machine to machine data exchange and deploying IoT sensor networks at scale. With simple device setup and management through a web interface and powerful cognitive analytics built in, the IoT is about to take a giant leap forward.
AgriSmart
Agrismart provide farming solutions aimed at cutting farm inputs, improving efficiency and increasing profitability.
Kawa Space
Kawa Space is a technology platform that helps users deploy space missions in seconds
Nova Works
NovaWurks is a California company that has developed modular satellites.
Picterra
User-Sourced artificial intelligence for earth imaging
Axiom Space
Axiom Space is the leading commercial provider of human spaceflight services, with access to the ISS today and to Axiom Station in 2024.
Mino Space
Mino Space is a private commercial satellite company that integrates satellite development and satellite applications.
Spire Global
Spire Global Inc. is a space to cloud data analytics company utilizing satellites to provide maritime, aviation, and weather tracking.
