With President Donald Trump proposing a $1.5 trillion defense budget next year, space defense startups are leaping into the spotlight.
Hailing from Colorado, True Anomaly Inc. splashed into Long Beach’s prosperous aerospace cluster last year with a 90,000-square-foot factory as the only company that exclusively focuses on space defense. It has since raised $260 million to fund a plethora of projects and landed a Golden Dome contract last November from the U.S. Space Force to build missile defense prototypes, backed by over $400 million in capital.
The Business Journal met with Mark Seidel, True Anomaly’s Long Beach-based chief financial officer, to discuss the business of space defense and finding True Anomaly’s niche in the competitive landscape of “Space Beach.”
Since expanding into Long Beach last year, how has True Anomaly found its footing?
Long Beach is a key hub for the next generation of aerospace and defense companies. Being there puts us close to the talent, partners and government stakeholders equally focused on the future of space superiority. Since acquiring the space in early 2025, we have started buildout of 90,000 square feet of production space with on-site engineering and office facilities and expanded headcount by more than seven times, with plans to double our total company workforce to 450 by end of 2026. Our Long Beach facility is the home base for several confidential programs and is central to how we integrate with customers across the broader defense ecosystem.
Among the many long-term residents of “Space Beach,” what niche in the market does True Anomaly fulfill?
True Anomaly is the only company focused exclusively on space defense. The U.S. has built arguably the most advanced defensive systems in history across air, land and sea, but space remains a blind spot. Exquisite legacy systems are capable but constrained by outdated timelines, cost-prohibitive programs and an acquisition structure that hasn’t kept pace with the threat. Off-the-shelf commercial systems are inexpensive and available at scale but lack the required performance for space superiority.
True Anomaly was built to be different, built to deliver effective space defense requires purpose-built spacecraft, software and payloads engineered specifically to find, track, and hold adversary systems at risk. Critically, we operate outside the traditional defense acquisition machine, moving at commercial speed, selling to the government as a customer, without being beholden to the slow procurement cycles that have allowed the gap to widen. That independence is a feature, not a workaround.
President Trump declared a potential increase in U.S. defense budget to $1.5 trillion in 2027, representing a 50% increase from this year. How would the influx of increased funds impact True Anomaly?
The current administration’s focus on space as a warfighting domain confirms what we founded this company knowing: the U.S. is behind, and a new generation of high-performance, cost-effective capabilities is urgently required. Increased investment reflects a growing recognition that our entire defense ecosystem is hinged on space. It must be protected. Our focus remains the same regardless of the budget environment, but greater resources allow programs like ours to move faster and scale more quickly.
How would True Anomaly navigate the transition from a startup to a major contractor in the aerospace-defense sector?
We built True Anomaly with scale and speed in mind from day one. We’ve invested early in manufacturing, now operating two facilities, expanded our product portfolio across spacecraft, software and payloads, and hired top talent from across aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries. At the same time, we’re committed to preserving what makes startups effective: speed, technical depth and mission-driven culture. Our goal was never to become a traditional defense contractor. We built this company knowing that a different approach was what the moment required, and we are ready for it.
As True Anomaly reaches a pivotal point, what short- and long-term goals will ensure sustainable growth?
In four years, we’ve flown two company-funded missions, built a team of more than 250 across two factories and four offices, and established ourselves as a leading developer of space superiority technology. Near-term, our focus is demonstrating and validating our core platforms – Jackal (spacecraft) and Mosaic (software) – with three missions in the next 12 months, alongside doubling our headcount this year.
Long-term, the goal is to be the primary systems provider for core space defense infrastructure: integrated spacecraft, software, command-and-control and operational systems that give the U.S. and its allies freedom of action in space.
How does True Anomaly see the space defense sector evolving over the next five to 10 years? What role do you hope to play?
We anticipate that the sector will shift away from “dual use” platforms that lack the performance to compete in contested environments, toward purpose-built space superiority systems. As USSF doctrine matures, orbital systems will need to defend themselves, including countermeasures in both the physical and cyber domains. Orbital data centers, nascent today, will become a major commercial frontier in short order. Our aim is to be the primary systems provider for the U.S. and its allies across flagship space superiority programs.
What is the commercial opportunity in space security?
If we lose space, we lose everything. Space underpins navigation, communications, financial transactions, logistics, connectivity and the United States’ military doctrine. Today, the pace of launch and infrastructure deployment is only accelerating. Recent events underscore both the vulnerability and the scale of the opportunity: disruptions to satellite communications ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing GPS spoofing in Middle East shipping corridors show how quickly attacks on space systems cascade through the global economy. This is driving significant demand for companies building solutions that provide eyes, ears and action on orbit. True Anomaly does not build systems for commercial use; we build purpose-built platforms to protect the commercial and defense infrastructure that the U.S. and its Allies deeply depend on.
How do you balance being a venture-backed startup in a highly regulated defense sector?
Venture capital lets us move faster than traditional acquisition cycles, investing ahead of government contracts and demonstrating capabilities early. The balance comes from looking beyond the curve: building with the mission in mind rather than a pre-stated requirement, while maintaining the agility that venture-backed companies uniquely bring. We’re fortunate to have investors who deeply support our mission and regularly engage on the ground with us and our partners to understand and accelerate product development.
What’s your outlook for venture capital flow into defense sector startups?
We’re seeing a structural shift. Investors are beginning to understand that not all dual-use technologies translate to effective defense outcomes in an increasingly contested environment. As geopolitical competition intensifies, venture capital is more willing to back companies building critical defense capabilities, and that shift is being reinforced by changes in contracting behavior. The Department of Defense (now called the Department of War) has signaled stronger commitment to streamlining acquisition pathways and scaling non-traditional supplier relationships, supporting the case that innovation can finally translate into meaningful program traction. The companies that succeed will combine strong technology with a deep understanding of mission requirements.
What would a secure space environment look like ten years from now?
It will be defined by proliferated constellations rather than a handful of exquisite assets: spacecraft that can maneuver, inspect, defend and recover, backed by autonomous systems built for deterrence and combat effects. Space operators will have real-time custody of what’s happening on orbit, the ability to attribute malign behavior quickly, and the means to respond before aggression becomes conflict. Security in space won’t mean the absence of competition; it will mean the U.S. and its allies have built the industrial capacity, software backbone, and warfighting infrastructure to deter aggression, preserve freedom of action and keep the space domain usable for the missions that matter most on Earth.
