The aerospace startup will use the new investment funds to continue its rapid expansion into the orbital and small satellite services markets.
BRUNSWICK, ME / ACCESSWIRE / June 4, 2024 / bluShift Aerospace announced today that it has raised $1.3M in a seed round, led by Houston-based Late Stage Capital, with participation from Maine Technology Institute. The private investment round is further amplified by a $1M matching Federal SBIR grant. Capitalizing on its strong commercial trajectory, bluShift will use the funding to accelerate launch offerings in the orbital and small satellite services markets.
Brady Brim-DeForest, managing partner at Late Stage Capital and CEO of Formula.Monks, a leader in AI technology solutions that services industries including aerospace, will assume the role of chairman of bluShift's board of directors. Texas based Brim-DeForest has co-founded six successful startups and helped numerous Fortune 500 companies implement radical new processes that enable them to produce competitive products at startup speeds. An author and speaker on AI, innovation, and entrepreneurship, he has more than 20 years of experience in product design, brand strategy, and startup management.
Brim-DeForest will be joined on the board of directors by bluShift CEO and founder Sascha Deri and Maine-based entrepreneur and investor Peter Murray.
"I'm thrilled to support bluShift's aggressive growth in the satellite services market," said Brim-DeForest. "As a vertically integrated company, bluShift stands out from its competitors in a number of critical ways. We manufacture our own non-toxic biofuel and reusable rockets, we are developing our own private launch site with direct access to sun-synchronous orbit, and we are cost-optimized - truly a winning combination."
Brim-DeForest continued: "The company's leadership team and long-term vision for democratizing access to orbit aligns with my own passion for transforming the future of space exploration."
The new funding marks a crucial chapter in bluShift's growth. The company previously raised nearly $4M. It will leverage this new capital infusion to complete a full duration burn engine test in the coming months, and scale its operations for commercial suborbital launch in 2025.
"This investment underscores investor confidence in bluShift's extraordinary team of engineers to achieve our vision," said Sascha Deri, CEO and founder of bluShift Aerospace. "It is being put to work immediately, helping us realize the next critical phase of our mission."
"We see an enormous need for dedicated, small-lift satellite deliveries to space," continued Deri. Currently the small satellite market relies on large companies like SpaceX for massive deployment of large satellites, leaving smaller players behind with multi-year wait times and sub-optimal orbit delivery. "With an increasing demand for replacing individual small satellites as they naturally de-orbit every 3-7 years, we are seeing more and more customers seeking rapid, affordable access to space and direct delivery to their desired orbit," explained Deri. "We will be better positioned than our competitors to fill that need."
In the last 20 years, a new class of small satellites has gone from being an academic exercise, to being one of the fastest growth sectors in the satellite industry, enabling services and research for academics, commercial, and government use. According to a study by Straits Research P. Ltd, the global market size for a class of small satellites called Cubesats, valued at $210M in 2021 is expected to reach $857M by 2030 alone.
bluShift has selected Maine's Downeast coastline as the headquarters for its first private launch services and manufacturing sites. This locale provides launch opportunities over the Atlantic Ocean directly into polar orbit with little interference from established flight patterns and minimal overflight of populated areas, offering a distinct geographic advantage that is unique to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
About bluShift Aerospace
bluShift is on a mission to provide fast and individualized smallsat launch services for customers, dramatically reducing the wait times of educational, research, commercial, and governmental customers seeking to launch to space. Founded in 2014, bluShift made history when it launched the first commercial rocket in the world powered by its proprietary nontoxic, carbon-neutral biofuel. Since then, the company has targeted the small satellite launch market, offering customers direct access to sun-synchronous orbit with rockets designed for research and commercial payloads. Learn more at: https://www.blushiftaerospace.com
About Late Stage Capital
Late Stage Capital, founded by Brady Brim-DeForest, is a venture fund that invests in companies that are transforming the future of humanity. The firm is stage agnostic, and invests from seed to growth.
Learn more at: https://www.latestagecapital.com
Media Contact:
Betta Stothart, Media Relations
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Photo Caption:
Brady Brim-DeForest, managing partner at Late Stage Capital (left), and bluShift Aerospace CEO and Founder Sascha Deri visit bluShift's test stand at Brunswick Landing. / Photo by Lindsay Becker, courtesy of bluShift Aerospace
SOURCE: bluShift Aerospace Inc