Kapta Space Closes Seed Round

Kapta Space has emerged from stealth mode with a $5 million seed funding round led by MetaVC Partners, with participation from Entrada Ventures and Blue Collective.

Kapta Space specializes in developing advanced spaceborne radar technology for Earth observation and defense applications. The company focuses on electronically steered radar imaging using metamaterials-based technology. Kapta was founded in 2023 by CEO Milton Perque and CTO Adam Bily.

Capital from this round will support the development of Kapta’s spaceborne electronically steered radar-based imaging technology and accelerate on-orbit demonstrations.

Kapta’s metamaterials-based technology involves engineered materials with precisely designed internal structures that manipulate electromagnetic waves in ways not possible with conventional materials.

The company’s core business revolves around creating high-resolution, persistent geospatial imagery for Earth observation (EO) and ground target tracking for defense missions. Its technology employs Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Interferometric SAR (InSAR) to provide around-the-clock imagery and analytics from space.

“SAR isn’t just about capturing satellite images. Our system allows us to deliver a more diverse set of data products to serve the broader commercial market. Although our system can provide small, high-resolution images, we can also deliver many other imaging products and modalities that today’s technologies simply are not capble of,” said Mr. Bily.

Kapta’s electronically steered radar imaging is more capable, scalable, and cost-effective than traditional Active Electronically Steered Arrays (AESAs). Its systems provide enhanced performance in a smaller, lighter package, which is crucial for satellite-based systems where size and weight are significant constraints.

Beyond commercial applications, Kapta Space aims to address gaps in national security and defense. “Our tech has much broader implications than just SAR,” said Mr. Perque. “What we see is more of an advanced, multi-mission spaceborne radar sensor that would enable many of the critical defense missions that don’t exist at scale, like GMTI (Ground Moving Target Indication)—missions of tracking slow-moving ground targets from space. That’s not possible with a low-cost, mechanically pointed system.”

The Department of Defense (DoD) has long sought to move airborne missions, such as those performed by AWACS and JSTARS, into space to ensure persistent, global surveillance. In 2023, Kapta Space was awarded a $1.8 million Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop its electronically steered antennas for spaceborne radar. The company also secured security clearances to execute classified defense contracts.

“AESAs are plagued with several problems that generally make them impractical for spaceborne applications at scale,” said Chris Alliegro, a managing partner at MetaVC Partners. “That’s where metamaterials come in. The Kapta team has designed a metamaterials-based radar imaging device that offers improved electronic scanning at lesser cost, complexity, and power consumption than spaceborne AESAs. And we are incredibly lucky to have Milton and Adam at the wheel, two early pioneers in the development of metamaterials-based systems.”

MetaVC Partners specializes in metamaterials-focused investments. Founded in 2021, the San Francisco- and Seattle-based firm invests in early-stage companies developing advanced materials and photonics technologies. Its most recent fund, MetaVC Fund I, closed at $150 million in 2022.