Northwood Hits $2 Billion Valuation Backed by a16z, DFJ Growth

Northwood Space Corp., a maker of critical ground infrastructure for satellites, raised $375 million for investments needed to keep pace with rapidly growing satellite networks in space.

The Series C funding, co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and DFJ Growth, values the startup at $2 billion, Northwood said in a statement Monday. Alpine Space Ventures, Washington Harbour Partners and Stepstone Activate were among others in the round. The aerospace startup previously raised $100 million in January but didn’t disclose the valuation at that time.

Northwood builds phased-array antenna systems that use electronically steered beams to communicate with multiple satellites without the need for large, mechanically rotating dishes.

A surge in satellite launches for communications, defense and data collection has fueled a boom in space investment, with funding projected to exceed $100 billion in 2026, according to Space Capital. But ground infrastructure, critical for communicating with satellites and transmitting data back to Earth, has failed to keep pace. Much of that equipment is aging or operating at capacity, creating an opportunity for startups modernizing the technology that connects space to Earth.

The new funding will enable the Torrance, California-based startup to expand the buildout of its global network, add several hundred staff and move faster on delivering contracts for commercial and government customers.

The company so far has deployed six ground sites on two continents and says it added new customers across US government agencies and commercial space companies in addition to traditional satellite operators.

Northwood was co-founded and is led by Chief Executive Officer Bridgit Mendler, a former Disney Channel actress and platinum singer-songwriter. Mendler also holds a master’s degree from MIT and a law degree from Harvard, where she worked with the Federal Communications Commission on satellite licensing and regulatory policy.

The startup also disclosed that it set up a multi-year credit line with HSBC Holdings PLC’s Innovation Banking unit.