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WASHINGTON — K2 Space, a satellite manufacturing startup aiming to disrupt the industry with lower-cost, high-capacity spacecraft, has raised $110 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital.
The round, announced on Feb. 13, also saw participation from existing investors, including Alpine Space Ventures and First Round Capital, bringing the California-based company’s total equity raised to $180 million since its founding in 2022.
The fresh capital injection will help K2 Space accelerate production of its “Mega” class satellite buses that the company claims can be built for under $15 million per unit with lead times of less than three months. K2 Space and its investors are betting that as launch costs continue to decline, the industry will move toward larger satellites, countering the recent trend favoring small satellite constellations.
“Advanced space capabilities can’t be built on small, low-powered platforms,” said Karan Kunjur, CEO of K2 Space, “but higher capability satellites have been far too expensive for most proliferated applications.”
Military mission planned for 2026
The U.S. Space Force is already showing interest. K2 Space is developing its first government mission, dubbed Gravitas, under a $60 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement, with the Space Force and venture investors each contributing $30 million. The mission, scheduled to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-16 rideshare in 2026, will deploy multiple national security payloads in low Earth orbit before maneuvering into medium Earth orbit, a region requiring advanced radiation-hardened capabilities.
Beyond funding, K2 Space is expanding its physical footprint. The company announced plans to open a 180,000-square-foot factory in Torrance, California, a move aimed at scaling production, increasing in-house component manufacturing, and growing its workforce.
In a bid to strengthen its defense business, K2 Space hired former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb as its new head of strategy.
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