EPISODE SUMMARY
Today’s Pathfinder episode features Anton Brevde, Chief Investment Officer of IBX Inc. IBX is a holding company consisting of Axiom Space, Intuitive Machines, X-Energy, and Quantum Space.
EPISODE NOTES
What does a space station, a lunar lander, a nuclear reactor, and a fleet of cislunar space vehicles have in common? They’re all part of serial space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian’s holding company IBX.
IBX consists of:
- Axiom Space, which provides private flights to the ISS and is also developing a commercial space station.
- Intuitive Machines, which is developing autonomous lunar landing systems.
- X-Energy, an engineering company working on nuclear reactors and fuel design.
- Quantum Space, which provides payload transportation, critical data, and infrastructure services in geostationary orbit and cislunar space.
This week’s Pathfinder podcast features IBX’s Chief Investment Officer, Anton Brevde. Anton was previously a general partner at famed deep tech venture fund, Prime Movers Lab, where he led space investments.
Payload went under the hood to understand how the four companies relate to one another and discuss the current state of the space economy, particularly:
- Anton’s role managing the business and capital needs of four highly complex businesses
- Fundraising for space companies in today’s market environment
- The role of government as a provider of non-dilutive funding
- The most common do’s and don’ts for space founders
- And much more…
This episode is brought to you by Epsilon3, software for complex engineering, testing, and operational procedures. Learn more at https://www.epsilon3.io/
• Chapters •
00:00 – Intro and Epsilon3 Ad
01:12 – Experience at Prime Movers Lab (PML)
06:47 – PML’s investment philosophy
08:58 – New role at IBX
10:37 – Why the increased focus on the space industry?
12:36 – Responsibilities of a Chief Investment Officer
14:42 – Common thread between IBX companies
19:26 – What is X-Energy?
22:57 – What is Quantum Space
26:06 – Epsilon Ad break
26:36 – Categorizing the space industry for an investor
32:36 – The current state of the space economy
35:55 – Government intervention in space
41:05 – The role of government in funding needs
49:49 – New innovations in the industry to be excited about
51:56 – What do you look for in founders and what makes them successful?
56:41 – Common founder mistakes
01:03:05 – Where to find Anton’s blog