Smaller satellites have made space cheaper to access. K2 Space is taking the opposite approach: building larger spacecraft with more power, payload capacity and onboard capability.
The Torrance, California-based company has raised a $500 million Series D at a $6.8 billion valuation. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ, with participation from CapitalG, Lightspeed, Altimeter, Spark Capital, Sands Capital, ARK Invest, T. Rowe Price Associates and existing investors.
Founded by brothers Karan Kunjur and Neel Kunjur, K2 develops vertically integrated satellite platforms for communications, defence, sensing and future orbital computing. Its operational Gravitas spacecraft demonstrated a 20-kilowatt platform in orbit, while its larger satellite architecture is designed to carry heavier payloads across low, medium and geostationary orbits.
The company says it has now raised more than $1 billion and secured over $1 billion in signed commercial and government contracts. These include an initial 30 satellites for SES’s meoSphere network, work connected to Anduril’s Golden Dome programme and a satellite-bus role for the US Space Force’s Protected Tactical Satcom-Global programme.
The funding will expand K2’s 180,000-square-foot manufacturing site and support production of up to 100 satellites annually. More than 85% of its platform is built in-house, giving the company greater control over cost, supply and manufacturing speed.
K2 also plans to introduce a 100-kilowatt Giga-class satellite in the second half of 2028, designed for high-capacity missions including large-scale computing in orbit. Its next mission, Trinity, is scheduled to carry multiple satellites in 2027.
The round adds K2 to the growing investment behind space and orbital infrastructure and wider deeptech startup funding. Its challenge is now industrial: moving from proven hardware to repeatable, high-volume satellite manufacturing without compromising reliability.