May's Space Dirt🚀

When I first started doing this newsletter way back at the beginning of 2023, it felt like there were some slow months; not anymore! This May’s Space Dirt is another stellar example of the hard tech industry’s strong health.

Let’s get to it!

REAL ESTATE HIGHLIGHTS

Skyryse leased 13,280 square feet at 821-825 N Nash Street, El Segundo, CA. (source: Me!)

One Kappa leased 1,500 square feet from Neros’ former space at 138 Arena Street, El Segundo, CA. (source: Me!)

K2 Space leased 174,211 square feet at 1355 Sepulveda Blvd, Torrance, CA. (source: Me!)

Starpath leased 10,950 square feet at 13030 Cerise Ave, Hawthorne, CA. (source: Me!)

Mitico leased space at 5649 Alhambra Ave, Building 2, Los Angeles, CA. (source: Me!)

Xairos leased space at Tycho Station, 1460 Overlook Drive, Lafayette, CO. For more info on the aerospace incubator at Tycho Station, check out our November newsletter. (source: Me!)

Castelion leased space in Midland, Texas, to test rocket engines and propulsion systems. (source: Me!)

If you know someone that you think would like Space Dirt, please share.

NOTABLE FUNDINGS

El Segundo-based Neros, an autonomous drone startup founded about a year ago, has raised $10.9 million in a seed round from Sequoia Capital to build a new factory and manufacture more drones to sell to Ukraine. Neros joined a series of American drone companies trying to capitalize on the huge demand for drones in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been deployed at an unprecedented scale to track enemy forces, guide artillery, and bomb targets. (source: Reuters)

Los Angeles-based Aerodome, a maker of Drone-As-First-Responder (DFR) technology, announced that it has raised $21.5 million in Series A funding to continue building DFR solutions and growing its engineering and go-to-market teams. CRV led the round, which also included participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Karman Ventures, Immad Akhund (CEO, Mercury), and Ford Street Ventures. The company raised its seed round in October 2023, led by a16z and 2048 Ventures, bringing its total funding to $28 million. (source: Reuters)

Scarcely five months after its founding, Irvine-based hard tech startup Layup Parts has landed a $9 million round of financing led by Founders Fund to transform composites manufacturing. Lux Capital and Haystack also participated. The $9 million will primarily go to capital expenditures like a bigger building and more equipment, as well as hiring on both the software side and for factory floor technicians. (source: TechCrunch)

Austin-based Base Power announced the launch of its battery-powered home energy service, which will offer customers more reliable and affordable power. Base Power raised $68 million dollars at the beginning of May. Base is now available to select Texas homeowners who can choose their energy provider, and it plans to expand nationally. Founded in 2023, Base is building distributed battery storage for customers and the grid — unlocking reliable and affordable energy for Texans. Their service supports the grid during times of peak need and protects customers during outages — for a fraction of the cost of other solutions. (source: Business Wire)

Burlingame-based Xona Space Systems a company developing a network of small satellites to provide high-precision navigation services - announced an oversubscribed $19 million Series A funding round led by Future Ventures and Seraphim Space. New investors NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq also joined the round. This funding will be used to accelerate the deployment of Xona’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network as they drive towards commercialization. With this round, Xona will begin beta operations of their PULSAR™ satellite service, which is aimed at providing the robust precision guidance needed for intelligent and autonomous technologies to scale beyond highly structured environments. (source: TechCrunch)

AGREEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS, & CONTRACTS

Idaho Strategic Resources announced it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with El Segundo’s Radiant to participate in the Kaleidos Frontier Pilot Program designed to aid Radiant in the development and planned deployment of their meltdown-proof portable microreactor, Kaleidos. The agreement establishes a pathway for Idaho Strategic and Radiant to operate one or more of the first five Frontier Kaleidos units at a viable Idaho Strategic site. Radiant’s Kaleidos unit is designed to replace diesel generators with clean, cost-effective base-load power in remote and hard-to-reach locations. (source: Idaho Strategic Resources)

Seattle-based startup Starfish Space has secured a $37.5 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to develop, launch, and operate the company’s Otter satellite servicing vehicle in geostationary orbit by 2026. The four-year contract is a so-called STRATFI (Strategic Funding Increase) agreement, awarded by the Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space program office. It combines $37.5 million in government funds with an additional $30 million in venture capital investment. (source: SpaceNews)

Oakland-based Pyka and Nevada-based SNC have partnered to offer Pelican Cargo, Pyka's large-scale all-electric cargo UAS, to the U.S. Department of Defense. The partnership introduces RUMRUNNER, a modified edition of Pelican Cargo for contested logistics and a game-changer in military sustainment operations. Check out the YouTube video above.

Maui-based space situational awareness company Privateer acquired Palo Alto-based geospatial data analysis firm Orbital Insight in a deal announced on May 6. Privateer also raised $56.5 million in a Series A round. Prior to the acquisition, Privateer was focused on objects in space, while Orbital Insight tracked activity on Earth. “As we begin this new chapter together, Orbital Insight’s TerraScope analytics platform will integrate with Privateer’s Wayfinder data engine, bringing together data and intelligence across all domains, from sea to space,” Privateer said in a May 6 blog post. (source: SpaceNews)

MORE GUNDO LOVE

📰Along with an impressive list of hard tech founders, I contributed to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s front-page feature on El Segundo’s Smoky Hollow. Here’s the link to the article if you’d like to read it.

I KNOW A GUY (*JOB BOARD*)

A couple of good opportunities I wanted to alert everyone to…

Our friends at El Segundo’s Neros are hiring for various engineering and operations roles. Here’s the link to the postings.

Hadrian is hiring for a BizOps Associate. Here’s the LinkedIn posting.

WHAT I’M CONSUMING (AND ENJOYING!)

🐟 How can robotics cause a major shift in the Japanese seafood economy? Read this TechCrunch feature on Shinkei to find out.

𝕏 I’ve been enjoying the AtomsNotBits X account for hard tech news and updates.

📖 If you need some weekend reading, check out Booz Allen’s 96-page report: Top 10 Emerging Technologies for DOD and National Security.

📈 Seraphim Space announced the startups joining its 13th accelerator program, a three-month course designed to provide the networking and mentoring support they need to be investment-ready. The nine early-stage companies from the United Kingdom, United States, Italy and India are developing businesses across propulsion, cybersecurity, space situational awareness, geospatial insights and in-orbit biotechnology manufacturing. U.K.-based Seraphim, which runs the bi-annual accelerator with its U.S. arm Generation Space, said around 95 ventures have collectively raised more than $345 million in investment after participating in one of its previous 12 programs. Here’s the list of the latest startups:

HARD TECH SUBLEASES

If you’re in the market for a hard tech sublease, check out our sister site, https://hardtechsubleases.beehiiv.com/, for the latest sublease opportunities in the South Bay.

Thanks for reading.

If you’d like your office and/or manufacturing space or business profiled - or even your city! - let me know. It’s always fun to explore and share the different components of the hard tech industry.

Erik Stiebel
Founder and Vice President
CA DRE License #02080746
424.241.4795 | [email protected] 
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P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you with your real estate.

1. A new home for your growing business. The good news - you’re growing! The bad news - you need to move and you don’t know the market. I can help.

2. Sublease your space. You’ve outgrown your space and need to move but don’t want to pay two rents? I got you.

3. Time to renew your lease? Want to make sure you’re getting a fair deal from your Landlord? In my experience, you can never be too certain. (BTW, I recommend starting the lease renewal process 12 months out at a minimum.)

4.  Bonus: Promote your business or product to over 1,000 subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter.