Amid a wave of down rounds for the broader tech and VC community, the space capital markets are showing signs of recovery:
- In Q3, Space Economy investments rose 17% YoY, totaling $3.0B across 103 companies. There has now been $283.9B invested into 1,796 unique space companies over the past decade.
- 103 rounds closed in Q3, which is the highest in five quarters. Nearly one-quarter of these were Series A, which is 2x the global venture market.
- But we're not out of the woods yet, when comparing 2023 to the same period in 2022, early-stage rounds declined by 46% and late-stage rounds fell by 70%.
- Recent advancements in AI are already having a significant effect on the Space Economy, by enhancing the capabilities of companies within the Distribution and Applications layers, particularly within the GEOINT sector. Although Distribution is down YoY, the ‘AI effect’ is already driving growth, as this layer saw a notable uptick in investment activity in Q3, which was 74% higher than the total for the first two quarters.
- Disruption on the horizon: With Starship expected to pass critical testing this year, we are entering a new phase of infrastructure development that will have profound effects across the Space Economy. Both Infrastructure and Emerging Industries are poised for a major shake-up, as Starship creates vast new opportunities, but also obsoletes whole categories of investment. Investors need to focus on companies that are building for this major paradigm shift, or risk suffering major losses.
