Officials from Florida and the UK established a £300,000 ($401,000) fund on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show yesterday, intended to spur innovative space partnerships on both sides of the pond.
Backed by UKSA’s International Bilateral Fund and Space Florida’s International Aerospace Innovation Fund, the new fund supports projects with at least one partner headquartered in each region.
Better together: The joint call for projects will open this fall, with selections expected in early 2027.
While Florida is best-known for its launch pads, the fund targets more than just access to orbit. Officials from the UK and Florida said the fund is likely to direct its capital at projects in space transportation, satellite systems, in-space research, advanced exploration, and ISAM.
The goal—from the UK’s perspective—is to create commercial opportunities for UK companies in the US market.
“The UK’s space sector has enormous ambition, and partnerships like this one show exactly why international collaboration is central to our plans,” UKSA Director Rebecca Evernden said in a statement. “By joining forces with Space Florida, we’re opening new doors for British companies, researchers and innovators to work on the cutting-edge projects that will define the next generation of space capabilities.”
Three if by space: The fund is the latest example of deepening ties between the UK and the Space Coast, as the UK looks beyond its borders to boost its space startup sector.
As the ink dried on the Space Florida-UK partnership, the UK-based VC firm Seraphim Space announced the second Florida cohort of its Investment Readiness Program, offering mentorship, commercial guidance, and international investor access to five Florida-based space startups:
- LEO Biosciences is developing biomanufacturing capabilities in-orbit to study cancer treatments, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders.
- RootMatrix Bio is building technologies targeting crop production in space.
- Satlantis is building EO solutions for government and commercial customers.
- Seagate Space is attempting to create off-shore launch solutions.
- The Skyway Organization is engineering advanced materials and autonomous infrastructure to operate in space.
“Theres a lot of investment in Florida, but it’s either invested in real estate because they got so much land, or it leaves the state…so what [Florida] wanted to do was have a partner come in who could educate investors on the opportunity of new space.” Seraphim Space Enterprise Managing Director Alexander Holt told Payload. “We’re a force multiplier…We’re about getting companies match-fit to raise investment.
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The global space economy totaled a record $686B in 2025, according to the Space Foundation.
The Space Foundation released its annual State of the Global Space Economy report yesterday, which tallies commercial revenue and government spending across dozens of countries and agencies. The report found the space economy grew 12% compared to 2024, and the upward trend isn’t stopping anytime soon.
“The five-year compound annual growth rate now approaches 10 percent, and Space Foundation expects continued growth for the next several years,” Space Foundation CEO Heather Pringle said in an announcement video. “The primary reason for this growth is simple: space has become critical infrastructure.”
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