Stoke Space has raised $260 million in a round of Series C financing, bringing the rocket company’s total funding to $480 million.
The company said Wednesday it will use the capital to further develop its launch vehicle, Nova; complete construction work at a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida; and support improvements to its manufacturing and private test facilities.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Industrious Ventures, Leitmotif, Point72 Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Woven Capital, Y Combinator and the University of Michigan are among the new and existing investors that participated in the latest funding round.
“This new investment validates our progress and enables us to accelerate the development of technologies that will redefine access to and from space,” said Andy Lapsa, CEO and co-founder of Stoke Space.
In October 2023, the company announced that it secured $100 million in a Series B financing round.
Zenith Engine
In December, Stoke conducted a test fire of its first-stage engine, Zenith, on its vertical test stand in Moses Lake, Washington, making it one of the first entities to build and test a full-flow staged combustion engine.
“Rapid and reliable reuse of a rocket’s upper stage is the last big challenge to solve before mobility to and from space becomes akin to other forms of transportation,” said Lapsa. “It represents a significant inflection in the space economy, and in turn opens the door to an incredible set of business opportunities that make life more vibrant on and off Earth.”
