Apex closed a $200M Series C to boost vertical integration, and put more buses and parts on the shelf for customers.
Point72 Ventures and 8VC led the round, which included participation from previous investors such as Andreessen Horowitz. The round also saw a few first-time Apex investors join, including Washington Harbour Partners and StepStone Group.
“Demand has increased more than production capacity has,” CEO Ian Cinnamon told Payload. “This allows us to vertically integrate faster, and buy more parts ahead of time and stock inventory.”
A brief history: The satellite manufacturing startup closed a $95M Series B in June, and a $16M Series A in June 2023. Its first bus, dubbed Aries, launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission in March 2024—and recently celebrated one year of operating in orbit.
Cinnamon said the company raised this round after seeing “quite a bit of inbound from investors” who were drawn to Apex’s ability to generate revenue, along with its focus on defense customers.
Gold rush: Speaking of defense, Cinnamon said Apex has been preparing to compete for a system like Golden Dome—before the Golden Dome project even existed. Apex’s larger satellite bus, called Nova, will launch for the first time next year. Nova was designed to be a “constellation work horse” that could help integrate complex missions in orbit, including for the SDA’s missile-tracking constellation.
“This thesis and philosophy is not new for us,” Cinnamon said. “I’ve been thinking about it for five years, since before I started the company based on my prior work at Palantir.”
