Space & Deep-Tech

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7.1 Capella Space – SAR Imaging Constellation

All‑weather SAR imaging de‑risked by a ~$10M customer prepayment (2017) ahead of a $12M Series A, followed by a $97M Series C to expand capacity.

Capital stacking approach: Micro‑grants → Seed → Customer prepayment → Series A → SBIR

Product‑Market‑Fit Phase

1. Founder savings + Cal Poly grant (<$100k, 2016) → design + IP.

2. Seed $3M (2016) → demo.

3. Customer pre‑pay $10M (2017).

4. Series A $12M (2017).

Scale‑Up Phase

• USAF SBIR II (2020–21) $1.7M; Series B/C (~$157M).

References: Company · Series C $97M · 2023 $60M · SBIR

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7.2 Rocket Lab – Small‑Launch Vehicles

End‑to‑end launch and space systems that reached first orbital in 2017 and later raised ~$750M via SPAC/PIPE (2021) to fund Neutron and M&A.

Product‑Market‑Fit Phase

1. Founder capital + NZ grants (2006–10) → sub‑orbital.

2. Series A $7M (2013) → Electron.

3. NASA VADR/flight contracts (2015+) → revenue; first orbit 2017.

Scale‑Up Phase

• Series B $75M (2017); SPAC/PIPE $750M (2021).

References: Company · Investors · NASA VADR · SPAC press

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7.3 Planet Labs – Earth‑Imaging Smallsats

Daily global imagery business that completed Terra Bella acquisition (2017) and raised ~$590M via NYSE SPAC in 2021 to expand products and analytics.

Product‑Market‑Fit Phase

1. NASA Ames license + seed $1.5M (2013) → Doves.

2. Rideshares + early data sales (2013–14) → demand.

3. Series A $13M (2013) → first 28 satellites; daily imaging (2014).

Scale‑Up Phase

• Series B $95M (2015); Series C $168M (2017) + Terra Bella.

• NYSE SPAC $590M (2021).

References: Company · SPAC filing · Product docs · Terra Bella acquisition