Space infrastructure just got a double dose of validation. Northwood Space, the El Segundo startup modernizing satellite ground stations, announced Tuesday it closed a $100 million Series B led by Washington Harbour Partners and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz. The round comes alongside a $49.8 million U.S. Space Force contract to upgrade the military's aging satellite control network - a system that's been struggling with capacity issues since 2011, according to government watchdogs.
Space is getting crowded, and Northwood Space just positioned itself as the infrastructure play everyone needs. The startup landed a rare dual win this week - $100 million in Series B funding and a nearly $50 million defense contract - as both commercial operators and the U.S. military scramble to solve the same problem: how to talk to an exploding number of satellites.
The El Segundo, California-based company closed its Series B on Tuesday with Washington Harbour Partners leading and Andreessen Horowitz co-leading. Washington Harbour has been on a space investment spree lately, snapping up stakes in debris tracking firms and ground services companies. For Northwood, the capital arrives less than a year after its $30 million Series A - aggressive timing that founder and CEO Bridgit Mendler says reflects real production readiness, not just hype.
"Yes, this is happening faster than we thought - you know, two fundraises in the same year and large sums of capital," Mendler told reporters on a call. "But that's really what we're ready for from a production standpoint."
The Space Force contract adds government validation to the venture capital vote of confidence. The $49.8 million deal tasks Northwood with upgrading what's known as the satellite control network (SCN) - the infrastructure that tracks and controls GPS satellites and other critical defense assets. It's a system the Department of Defense has known needed help for over a decade. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report flagged capacity constraints dating back to 2011, warning that "increased demand and resulting limits on system availability could compromise missions in the future."
