The telecommunications satellite technology developer was valued at $1.4bn in a series C round backed by a Koch Industries subsidiary.
US-based telecommunications satellite producer Astranis received $250m yesterday in a series C round that included Koch Strategic Platforms, an investment subsidiary of chemical and energy conglomerate Koch Industries.
The round valued the company at $1.4bn and was led by funds managed by BlackRock. It also featured investment and financial services group Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Monashee Investment Management and Uncorrelated Ventures.
Existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Venrock, Fifty Years, Ace Early Stage Partners, Harpoon Ventures, Indicator Fund, Industry Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Refactor Capital, Rising Tide Fund and Soma Capital also took part in the round, as did private investors Jaan Tallinn, Jeff Dean and Jude Gomila.
Astranis is developing and deploying low-cost telecommunications satellites with the aim of connecting some 4 billion people to the internet. It claims its satellites weigh around 20 times less than traditional models and can be built in months instead of years.
The funding will support the production of the company’s microsatellite platform and will also accelerate research and development activities for its technology.
The series C round increased the total debt and equity financing raised by Astranis to at least $353m. It received $13.5m in a 2018 series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz and backed by Y Combinator, Fifty Years, Indicator Fund and Refactor Capital.
The company secured $40m in equity funding in a February 2020 series B round alongside a $50m debt facility. Venrock led the equity portion, investing with Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz and unspecified others while TriplePoint Capital provided the debt financing.
