Satellite startup K2 raises $500 million in private investment capital
Following the successful launch and operation of its first demo satellite Gravitas in March 2026, the satellite startup K2 has now raised $500 million in private investment capital, paving the way for its next even larger mission as well as building satellites for others.
“Scaling” is probably the word I’ve used most often the past few months in conversations with our investors, customers, and employees when talking about what’s next for K2 Space in 2027 and beyond:
- We’re going to continue to scale up mass production, to deliver against the $1B + in contracts we’ve won to-date.
- We’re going to scale up the satellite itself, from the 20kW Mega to the 100kW class Giga.
Gravitas, shown prior to launch to the right, is presently testing in orbit both its solar arrays (producing 20 kilowatts of power) and its ion thrusters (producing more power than present designs). The company already has contracts with a variety of customers, including the satellite company SES and the Pentagon. Its next test satellite, Trinity, will be bigger, and test panels producing five times more power.
It is exactly this technology that future data center satellite constellations will need, and it appears K2 is positioning itself as a provider of this technology to those constellations, even as it builds satellites for SES and the Space Force. To do so it is opening a facility in Seattle, and is putting out a call for new engineers interested in working there.
Hat tip to reader Nate P.
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K2Space has already hired away some former Starlink staff (including the man who designed Mega’s propulsion), so l opening an office in Seattle seems like a good way to try and poach more. Or people from Stoke/Blue Origin/et al., as the area has managed to retain a number of space companies despite hemorrhaging other businesses.
Looks as if the satellite in the picture was built to be deployed by a very large Pez dispenser. Imagine that.
You are right! In fact, so is the proposed Sophia satellite in the previous story.
I suspect this shape is going to soon become dominant among many satellite systems. Even if they aren’t launched by Starship, the flat form allows them to stack more satellites on any rocket.