K2 Space Corp., the Torrance-based space satellite company, raised $500 million in series D funding, catapulting the company’s valuation to $6.8 billion.
Kleiner Perkins and Iconiq Capital led the funding round, with additional participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, CapitalG, Altimeter Capital Management, ARK Invest, Spark Capital and Sands Capital. The company has raised more than $1 billion total since it was founded in 2022.
The funding comes at a pertinent time as K2 Space successfully launched its first large satellite, called Gravitas, in March. The company is pushing to develop large satellites, which can generate 20 kilowatts of power, at a faster rate and at a lower cost than its competitors. The company’s 180,000-square-foot factory in Torrance is designed to produce 100 satellites every year.
“K2 can deliver high power, high mass satellites at volume because they build more than 85% of its platform in-house,” Tengbo Li, general partner at Iconiq, said in a statement. “That vertical integration is what may take the company from one satellite to dozens to hundreds. We believe space will be one of the defining frontiers of the coming century.”
Record fundraises
These satellites are largely used to power everyday navigation systems, like Google Maps and food delivery platforms. However, as cybersecurity becomes an increasingly important component to overall national security, these satellites are evolving into a key pillar of the United States’ defense strategy.
Other countries are following suit. Russia, China and Europe have developed their own navigation satellite systems, though much of the world relies on the U.S.
Satellite companies are quickly becoming the darling of the space economy. Defense-related space technology firms have raised $3.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, and makers of satellite systems brought in 60% of that funding. Satellite companies raised a record $325.1 billion so far this year, which is 2.5 times more than the sector raised just a year prior.
The fresh funding will allow K2 to focus on its next project: a 100-kilowatt satellite model, called Giga, that will be unveiled in the second half of 2028.
On top of fulfilling orders for commercial customers, K2 is also preparing to launch multiple satellites in the second quarter of 2027 for its Project Trinity.
“Designing this cutting-edge platform, and then building it reliably and repeatedly, will allow us to best serve our customers as the leading manufacturer of large, high-power satellites,” Karan Kunjur, the co-founder and chief executive of K2 Space, said in a statement.
