Satellite Maker Apex Reaches Orbit

Apex, a satellite manufacturer, has closed a $200 million Series C funding round led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by 8VC. Also investing in this round were returning investor Andreessen Horowitz and new investors Washington Harbour Partners and StepStone Group.

Apex designs and manufactures configurable satellite bus platforms that support a range of space missions, including communications, remote sensing, missile defense, and space-based interceptors.

The company’s core products include the Aries bus (a small satellite platform optimized for rapid deployment), GEO Aries (for geostationary orbit missions), and Nova (supporting payloads between 200–500 kg). These off-the-shelf satellite buses are purposely engineered for commercial scalability and target reduced customization costs and delivery times. Customers of Apex include U.S. defense agencies such as the U.S. Space Force, national defense primes, and commercial space technology firms.

Apex will use the capital from the new investment round to back production expansion at its Los Angeles facility. Interest in the round was buoyed by the company’s successful one-year on-orbit milestone for its first Aries spacecraft, Serial Number One (SN1).

Apex was founded in 2022 by CEO Ian Cinnamon and Max Benassi and is headquartered in Los Angeles in a 50,000-square-foot production facility.

“Apex’s approach to building spacecraft is key to America realizing its commercial and national security strategies in space. This successful raise accelerates our production, allowing Apex to expand its inventory ahead of demand to better enable the missions of our innovative customers, including defense primes, the U.S. government, and some of the most exciting companies in the country,” said Mr. Cinnamon.

“Apex is laser-focused on what we believe missions in space need most: rapid delivery, transparent pricing, and the highest possible quality,” said Chris Morales, a partner at Point72 Ventures. “The demonstrated success of Apex’s satellite buses and the company’s innovative approach to manufacturing have helped them win the trust of customers ranging from the U.S. Space Force to industry leading primes.”

“Apex is the only company currently positioned to deliver the quantity of spacecraft needed by the U.S. in the time frame required,” said Mina Faltas, founder and CEO of Washington Harbour Partners. “We intimately understand the needs of the warfighter and the technology that accelerates decisive capability.”

“Apex’s satellite buses are delivering the on-orbit proliferation required for America to prevail in the new space race,” said Joe Lonsdale, founder and managing partner at 8VC. “This Administration recognizes where our defense capabilities demand drastic evolution. Apex’s pace of innovation and manufacturing speed and scale exemplify the bold approach needed to secure the edge for our forces.”

Point72 Ventures invests in early-stage companies across financial technology, artificial intelligence, enterprise infrastructure, and healthcare. The firm primarily targets startups with scalable technologies and strong founding teams, focusing on Seed to Series B rounds. The Stamford-headquartered firm is the venture capital arm of Point72, an asset management firm founded by Steven A. Cohen.

8VC is a venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas, co-founded in 2016 by Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir Technologies. The firm focuses on investing in early- to growth-stage companies across sectors such as logistics, healthcare, financial services, bio-IT, and enterprise software.