September's Space Dirt 🚀 (mid-month)

Greetings! In this issue, we have:

• 11 real estate highlights

• 3 companies emerging from stealth

• 15 fundings

• 12 agreements, partnerships & contracts

• 6 pieces of content I think you might enjoy…

Also, a new map is coming in the next Space Dirt. More info below.

Enjoy!

REAL ESTATE HIGHLIGHTS

Heart Aerospace leased 31,505 SF at 1830 W 205th Street, Torrance, CA. (source: Me!) 

AnySignal leased 21,996 SF at 23935 Madison Street, Torrance, CA. (source: Me!) 

Singularity Defense leased 10,850 SF at 445 S Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA. (source: Me!)

Anduril Industries leased 162,656 SF at 3130-3100 S Harbor, Santa Ana, CA. (source: Me!) 

Charge Robotics leased 11,000 SF at 1616 Doolittle Dr, San Leandro, CA. (source: Me!) 

FlightWave Aerospace Systems leased 14,616 SF at 1124 E Del Amo Blvd, Carson, CA. (source: Me!)

Greensea IQ announced the opening of a new, larger facility at 4010 Goldfinch St, San Diego, CA, marking a significant expansion of its West Coast operations. The new facility is close to Navy Base Point Loma and offers manufacturing space as well as a training room. (source: Greensea IQ)

UC Santa Barbara has officially secured a long-term lease on a 105,000 SF research and development facility in Goleta, CA. Known as Oasis, the facility, which will now be used by UCSB for research and innovation, is located within Goleta’s thriving tech corridor and adjacent to the UCSB campus. The facility is designed to foster seamless collaboration among UCSB researchers, startups, and established companies. Featuring both wet and dry lab spaces, the building is equipped with modern office and meeting areas optimized for innovation and translational-focused partnerships. (source: Pacific Coast Business Times)

Hitachi Energy will build a $457 million transformer production facility in South Boston, VA, and make more than $500 million in other investments to meet the growing need for U.S. grid equipment, the company, state officials, and the Trump administration announced Thursday. (source: Manufacturing Dive)

Czech Republic’s PBS Aerospace opened its first North American facility at 1350 Northmeadow Parkway, Roswell, GA. The facility will be for the company’s U.S. manufacturing and R&D hub for small turbojet engines. With a $20 million investment and plans to hire 100 workers, this expansion underscores PBS's deepening presence in the U.S. aerospace sector and its commitment to supporting Department of Defense clients. (source: PBS Aerospace)

Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company, announced plans to design, build, and operate a fuel recycling facility in Tennessee as the first phase of an advanced fuel center through investment totaling up to $1.68 billion and aiming to create more than 800 high-quality jobs. The initial investment will be for the construction of a facility to recycle used nuclear fuel into fuel for fast reactors like Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse and will be the first of its kind in the U.S., establishing a clean, reliable energy supply. (source: Oklo)

🔥 Huntsville, Alabama, has been attracting a ton of hard tech companies in 2025. Check out this AtomsNotBits post on LinkedIn for the impressive list.

SOCAL HARD TECH MAP - COMING SOON!

Just a heads up that I’ll be releasing the latest SoCal Hard Tech Landscape map in the next Space Dirt on September 30th.

I’m pretty good at capturing all of the hard tech companies out there, but if you’ve never seen your company’s name in Space Dirt OR on the last map, feel free to send me a message if you’d like your company included.

For reference: here’s the last map (scroll down a little bit).

-Erik

STEALTH NO MORE

Rendezvous Robotics emerged from stealth via a LinkedIn post. Rendezvous Robotics makes flat-packed, modular systems that autonomously assemble scalable infrastructure directly in orbit — solving the bottleneck rockets can’t. Co-founded by Dr. Ariel Ekblaw, inventor of TESSERAE at MIT and founder of the Aurelia Institute, together with Phil Frank (CEO), an experienced technology executive, and Joe Landon (President), an experienced space executive. Dr. Ekblaw invented the technology during her time at MIT. Rendezvous closed a $3 million pre-seed led by Aurelia Foundry and 8090 Industries, with ATX Venture Partners, Mana Ventures, and angel investors. The round will be used to hire more employees and help move the tech from demo to a full-scale product on orbit. In this TED video, Dr. Ekblaw reveals how self-assembling structures could build orbiting real estate in space dedicated to solving humanity’s greatest dilemmas on Earth, leading to scientific and medical breakthroughs only possible in zero gravity. (additional source: TechCrunch)

Cambridge Aerospace is officially out in the open. The company is reportedly backed by Accel, Lakestar, and Lux Capital, and already has a team of about 60 people. They’re also building out an SRM production facility in the UK. Co-founder and CEO Steven Barrett, a former MIT aerospace engineer and current professor at Cambridge University, confirmed that the company has about $100 million in hand and said their goal is to build cheaper yet effective interceptors that can take out everything from a Shahed drone to a ballistic missile. The company was founded in 2024 by Barrett, along with Anduril’s former director of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Chris Sylvan, and former UK defense secretary Grant Shapps. Junaid Hussain, chair and founder at holding company Auctor, also helped build the company. The company is based in Cambridge, but also producing in Norfolk, in the east of England. So far, they have two interceptors (basically defensive missiles). (source: Tectonic)

Founder Nico Roe announced Reach Defense, a proving ground for mission-critical innovation, on LinkedIn.

Join over 2,000 of the best & brightest in the hard tech community and subscribe to the only commercial real estate hard tech newsletter, Space Dirt!

REAL ESTATE CORNER

NOTABLE FUNDINGS

New Mexico plans to invest $315 million in a bid to become a leader in another potentially era-defining technology: quantum computing. New Mexico will invest $315 million in private companies, fabrication facilities, and other infrastructure, such as a quantum network to connect labs and businesses. As part of the $315 million, the state will provide $185 million from its sovereign wealth fund for private venture capital firms to invest in quantum businesses with a presence in New Mexico. There will also be $60 million each from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the state to vet and help position those projects for commercial viability. Many of those projects, such as a network to link quantum equipment around a central hub in Albuquerque, will come online by the middle of next year. About $25 million of funding from the state will also go toward trying to pair scientists with entrepreneurs who can help turn scientific discoveries into business ideas. (source: Reuters)

GE Aerospace is taking a sizable stake in electric aviation company Beta Technologies, with the pair teaming up to build a hybrid-electric turbogenerator for next-gen aircraft. GE will also invest $300 million, pending regulatory approval, under a strategic deal announced Thursday. If this deal goes through, it will bring Beta’s total funding to $1.45 billion, and GE will join a suite of institutional investors that includes Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and Fidelity Management & Research Company. If approved, GE will also gain the right to designate a director to Beta’s board, another signal that the legacy engine maker is taking seriously the new rise of hybrid-electric architectures. (source: TechCrunch)

Divergent Technologies announced the closing of its Series E financing, raising a total of $290 million at a $2.3 billion valuation. The round was led by Rochefort Asset Management and consists of $250 million in equity capital and $40 million in debt capital. (source: Divergent)

Apex Space, one of a growing number of U.S. startups building a speedy production line of spacecraft platforms, has closed a $200 million funding round, which has brought its valuation to $1 billion. This comes as the Pentagon signals enormous demand for defense systems in space. The Los Angeles-based startup's Series D round was led by Interlagos, a venture capital firm founded by former senior finance heads at Elon Musk's SpaceX. Existing investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Point72 Ventures, and 8VC. The company stated that its latest funding round will help accelerate spacecraft production by 50% and more than double the size of its manufacturing facilities. (source: Reuters)

Shift5 announced it has raised $75 million in Series C funding, led by Hedosophia with participation from Insight Partners, Center 15 Capital, 645 Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, Squadra Ventures, AE Industrial, Disruptive, CSP Equity Partners, and Savano Capital Partners. The investment will scale Shift5's operational technology (OT) monitoring capabilities across defense and commercial transportation sectors as organizations face increasing cybersecurity threats and aging infrastructure challenges that demand real-time visibility into critical systems. (source: PR Newswire)

Defense startup Vector has raised $61 million since its founding a little more than one year ago, its chief executive, Andy Yakulis, first told Axios. The company has U.S. military customers, but declined to specify exactly who. Financial backers include Harpoon Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Shield Capital. (source: Axios)

Maybell Quantum, The Quantum Infrastructure Company, announced a $40 million Series B financing round led by Addition. The investment will accelerate Maybell’s commercialization of next-generation cryogenic and RF systems—critical infrastructure for enabling the quantum future. (source: Maybell Quantum)

Orchard Robotics, the AI Farming Company, announced its oversubscribed $22 million Series A funding. The round was led by Quiet Capital and Shine Capital, with continued participation from General Catalyst, Contrary, Mythos, Valyrian, Ravelin, and other world-class investors such as F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg and Yext & Roam Founder Howard Lerman, bringing the company's total funding to over $25 million. Founded in 2022 by Thiel Fellow Charlie Wu, Orchard is tackling one of the most significant challenges in modern agriculture: the lack of precise, field-level data. (source: Business Wire)

Sapphire Technologies, a maker of equipment that converts wasted pressure into electricity, has raised $18 million in a Series C round led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. The funding round also included continued backing from Equinor Ventures, Cooper and Company, and Energy Capital Ventures. The Cypress, CA-based company said it plans to use the new capital to expand production capacity at its recently opened California plant. (source: Carbon Herald)

NewSpace Capital, the Luxembourg-based private equity firm, announced a $15 million investment in Los Angeles’ K2 Space to help the satellite manufacturer build multi-orbit-capable sats for commercial and defense missions. The partnership will also allow K2 to serve more commercial and government customers on the European continent, at a time when demand is booming for satellites with more maneuverability and resilience. (source: Payload)

Nuclearn, the AI platform designed for nuclear operations, announced it has raised $10.5 million in Series A funding to accelerate product development and market expansion. The round was led by Blue Bear Capital, with participation from SJF Ventures and follow-on investments from existing investors AZ-VC and Nucleation Capital. The new funding will be used to advance development of Nuclearn's domain-specific AI solutions, expanding features that support operations, engineering, and regulatory compliance. (source: PR Newswire)

Aurelius Systems raised $10 million to bring autonomous laser defense to the battlefield. General Catalyst and Draper Associates led the round. New participants include Squadra Ventures, New Founding , GoAhead Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Mana Ventures. Continued participation from Outlander VC, Decisive Point, and Detroit Venture Partners. The raise will be used to scale the production of Archimedes: a compact, mobile laser defense system already tested on U.S. military ranges. (source: Business Wire)

AI-powered recruiting platform for manufacturing jobs, Laborup, closed a $7.7 million funding round and moved its headquarters from San Mateo, CA, to Nashville, TN. The seed was led by NVP, with participation from Torch Capital, Threshold, Heartland VC, and angels Jeff Dean, James Slavet, and Evan Moore. Our pre-seed investors include Daybreak, Westbound, Jeff Jordan, Marketplace Capital, Market Square Ventures, and other angels. (source: Laborup)

AiGent, Inc., a leading developer of AI-driven distributed power plants (DPP), announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding from ZIP and CIV, in record time, to integrate 185 GW of the highest reliability set of existing generation assets into American power markets. (source: PR Newswire)

Tiberius Aerospace announced that it has raised a $4.5 million founders’ round, backed by Never Lift Ventures, Blacklake, firedrop VC, Beaten Zone Ventures, and other strategic investors. Recently, the company also announced a UK Ministry of Defence contract—worth about $5 million plus the cost of production and procurement, according to CEO Chad Steelberg—to accelerate development of its 155mm ballistic munition, Sceptre. Testing of the round will be independently validated by the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit. (source: Tectonic Defense)

Larx closed a $2.5 million seed round to fuel its mission of redefining visual intelligence for defense and beyond. (source: LinkedIn)

AGREEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS, & CONTRACTS

EchoStar has agreed to sell the company's AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses to SpaceX in a transaction worth $17 billion. The deal, which consists of $8.5 billion in cash and $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock, will grant SpaceX 50 MHz of exclusive S-band spectrum in the U.S., as well as global Mobile Satellite Service licenses. "This agreement will enable us to develop and deploy our next generation Starlink Direct to Cell constellation, which will be capable of providing broadband service to cell phones globally," SpaceX said. Musk's rocketeers currently have more than 600 Starlink Direct to Cell satellites in orbit, and the next generation of spacecraft will, according to the biz, be designed to make full use of the spectrum. SpaceX has suggested figures such as 20 times the throughput of a first-generation satellite and a 100-fold capacity increase. (source: The Register)

The Royal Australian Navy awarded Anduril Australia a A$1.7 billion (US$1.12 billion) Program of Record to deliver a fleet of Ghost Sharks, with production already underway. The Navy co-developed and co-funded Ghost Shark with Anduril, committing significant financial and bureaucratic capital to the success of the program. (source: Anduril)

Arc, the Los Angeles-based electric boat company, announced a $160 million contract with Curtin Maritime, a leading U.S. marine company, for hybrid-electric ship assist tugboats. Built in collaboration with Snow & Co shipyard, the project marks the largest commercial deployment of electric workboats in the marine industry's history. The first four tugboats are committed for delivery before the end of 2027. (source: PR Newsire)

Scout AI announced it has been awarded a major contract under the U.S. Army's Unmanned Systems (UxS) initiative, a large Army effort to advance ground autonomy. Under the contract, Scout will integrate its autonomy platform, Fury, onto Army furnished Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISV's), demonstrating the full range of UxS autonomy requirements. The program spans a 16-month performance period, after which the Army may procure units up to $150 million in contract value. (source: PR Newswire)

The NOAA NESDIS Commercial Data Program (CDP) announced two awards for the Radio Occultation (RO) Data Buy 2 (RODB-2) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Delivery Order 5 (DO-5) totaling $35,536,400 to support weather forecasting and space weather applications:

1. PlanetiQ of Golden, CO, is awarded $24,345,500 to provide 7,000 GNSS-RO profiles per day, in which 500 will have enhanced signal-noise ratios, and to provide 2,500 low-latency Total Electron Content tracks per day. 

2. Spire Global of Vienna, VA, is awarded $11,190,900 to provide 3000 GNSS-RO profiles per day. (source: Office of Space Commerce)

The NOAA, NASA, USAF, and U.S. Navy will ingest these data into their numerical weather prediction models and for space weather applications. In addition, various U.S. government and international government agencies utilize these data for operational and research purposes.

Reliable Robotics has reached a $17.4 million deal with the United States Air Force for a Cessna 208B equipped with its automated flight system, securing a launch customer for its autonomous cargo logistics program. The USAF will acquire the Reliable Autonomy System (RAS) and the Cessna 208B from Reliable in two separate transactions. (source: Cargo Facts)

Picogrid, a leading developer of integrated systems technology, today announced a $3.2 million program with the Air Force. This initiative will provide the Air Force with technology to integrate autonomous systems into its missions. Under this contract, the Air Force will employ Legion, Picogrid's integration platform, to unify data from these diverse systems. Legion will allow operators to connect new sensors, drones, and robotics to a unified, real-time view of the battlefield. The platform then feeds this information directly into tactical tools, higher-level command centers, and autonomous threat analytics. (source: Picogrid)

Pro-Vision, a leader in mobile video solutions, today announced it has acquired Spartan Radar, a California-based radar innovator advancing collision-avoidance technologies. The move strengthens Pro-Vision’s position at the forefront of intelligent fleet safety solutions, combining advanced radar with proven video systems to address one of the industry’s most urgent challenges: protecting drivers, fleets, and the public on increasingly crowded roads. Spartan Radar, founded in 2019 and based in Los Alamitos, CA, has earned recognition for its radar-based advanced collision warning solutions. (source: Pro-Vision)

Impulse Space and Infinite Orbits, a France-based in-orbit services company, have reinforced their partnership by signing a multi-launch agreement. The agreement covers the delivery of multiple Infinite Orbits spacecraft to geostationary orbit (GEO), starting in 2027, via Impulse’s rideshare program Caravan. The first missions include the launch of several servicers developed by Infinite Orbits, allowing multiple life extension missions and the deployment of an inspection and surveillance micro-satellites fleet. With at least three spacecraft launched in 2027 and additional missions planned each year following, this agreement reinforces the partnership between the companies. (source: Impulse Space)

X-Bow Systems, the leading non-traditional producer of advanced manufactured solid rocket motors (SRMs) and defense technologies, announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AEON Industrial, a defense technology company based in Austin, Texas. This partnership is centered on a mutual commitment to advancing the development and production of tactical missile systems. (source: PR Newswire)

Maxar Intelligence, the leading provider of secure, precise geospatial insights, today announced a strategic partnership with Anduril to supply the foundational geospatial intelligence that will underpin a next-generation mixed-reality command-and-control (C2) system that Anduril Industries is developing for the U.S. Army. (source: Morningstar)

WHAT I’M CONSUMING (AND ENJOYING!) 

💰 I’m sure this won’t be a surprise to Space Dirt readers, but here’s an article from the LA Times (via military.com) on how the space race is transforming Southern California’s economy.

🎙 Kyle Hardy, CEO of Hardy Dynamics, and Ashkan Bayatpour, Navy Reserve Officer and former Intel Operations officer, join The Drone Ultimatum podcast to talk about the future of drone warfare and defense startups.

⁍ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a directive treating small drones (under 55 lbs) as ammunition rather than durable equipment. The new policy also allows more units to buy drones, which should boost the demand signal to the industry.

🔌 Wischoff Ventures lays out what’s being done to help the aging U.S. energy grid that’s facing ever-increasing demands.

⚡️ How VCs are fueling innovation in defense tech. Hint: it starts with the shift from big, expensive military assets to smaller, more agile, and less costly ones.

📖 Icarus’ Henry Kwan shares how he’s taking a page out of SpaceX’s playbook: start small, focus under constraints, and scale into dominance.

HOW I CAN HELP YOU

Some people only know me as “that Space Dirt newsletter guy.” Although I love that moniker, here are 3* ways I can help with your hard tech real estate when the time is right.

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 hard tech real estate market. I can help. And I come with strong references.

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.)

*Not an exhaustive list 💪

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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