Varda Space Industries, the in-space manufacturing startup that wants to revolutionize the production of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and more, is in the process of raising $25 million in new capital that would put its valuation at around $500 million after investment, according to documents viewed by TechCrunch.
The fundraising comes at a crucial time for Varda, which is preparing to send its first spacecraft to orbit. The startup has ambitions to operate multiple autonomous “space factories” on orbit capable of manufacturing sensitive materials that can only be produced in a zero-G environment. While in-space manufacturing is not new, thanks to years of research on the International Space Station, no company has yet been able to manufacture in the space environment at scale nor return the products to Earth.
The $25 million pre-Series C ‘family and friends’ round is being raised as a special purpose vehicle (or SPV) managed by Side Door Ventures, which has invested in two of Varda’s prior rounds. One of Side Door’s investors, Jordan Croom, joined Varda in September 2021 as head of payloads and mechanisms. According to his LinkedIn, Croom focuses primarily “on early stage deep/frontier tech …
