Venture capital company Space Capital said on Thursday that funding for space companies more than doubled in the first quarter as government investment remained strong and created the conditions for the space industry to develop.
Since government agencies employ geospatial data and photos from satellites for anything from weather patterns and agriculture analysis to changes and movements along international borders, geopolitical uncertainty have played a major role in the funding boom.
The managing partner of the venture capital firm, Chad Anderson, stated, “The overall space economy is rebounding and it is now replete with a number of rising stars, even though we still have some consolidation to get through.”
Funding for space startups rose to $6.5 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, from $2.9 billion a year earlier, and inflows were up 33% from the fourth quarter, as investment in geospatial intelligence overtook satellite communications for the first time, showing the growing demand for such data.
Meanwhile, pricing for satellite capacity has also fallen helping attract companies to use assets in space for commercial purposes.
The first quarter saw many milestones including SpaceX’s successful Starship flight test to United Launch Alliance’s launch of Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines’ mission, which was the first touchdown on the lunar surface by a U.S. spacecraft in more than half a century.
The space economy’s size is set to triple to $1.8 trillion by 2035 and roughly rival the size and reach of the global semiconductor industry, according to a World Economic Forum report released earlier this week.
This underscores the potential impact on investors, businesses, and government entities, who stand to gain significantly from the growth of the space sector.
