Los Angeles-based startup K2 Space secured $50 million in fresh funding as it endeavors to develop gargantuan satellites commensurate with the colossal rockets entering the market.
Almost two years post its inception, K2, spearheaded by CEO Karan Kunjur and Chief Technology Officer Neel Kunjur, who are brothers, anticipates initiating its inaugural satellite on a test mission later this year.
The latest funding round for the company was spearheaded by tech investor Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital and saw participation from Alpine Space Ventures, supplementing the $8.5 million in seed funding garnered from investors such as First Round Capital and Republic Capital.
K2 opted not to disclose its valuation after the recent fundraising round.
K2’s Mega class satellite bus—essentially the backbone of a spacecraft providing power, mobility, and other essential functions—is tailored to fit within the cargo capacities of “heavy” and “super heavy” rockets.
Some of these rockets are already operational, such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, or United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, while others, like SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, are slated to enter the market shortly.
The company markets its Mega satellite at $15 million each, boasting a capacity to accommodate up to one ton of payload mass per unit. With this size specification, K2 could potentially accommodate 10 Mega satellites within a single Falcon 9 rocket.
“We have a pretty modular design, where the customers can dial in just how much payload mass they want, how many satellites they want to launch, and how much propellant they want to carry,” remarked Neel Kunjur.
He added, “The intent is basically to give a customer a menu of options where they can dial it into their given mission needs.”
K2’s forthcoming demonstration mission aims to validate the efficacy of its Mega design to several undisclosed clients.
Alongside engagements with various commercial “large satellite operators,” Karan Kunjur highlighted K2’s success in securing approximately $6.5 million in contracts from the Department of Defense over the last eight months.
“There are different parts of the DOD that are incredibly excited about the capability that we’re able to offer at the constellation level,” stated Karan Kunjur.
Presently, K2 operates out of a 15,000-square-foot facility in Torrance, California, employing 28 individuals, many of whom, like Neel Kunjur, bring with them extensive experience from their tenure at SpaceX.
The Kunjur brothers anticipate utilizing the recent investment to establish a 150,000-square-foot facility later this year and expand the company’s workforce to over 50 employees as they gear up for satellite production.
“The goal is really to get into [the larger facility] by the end of the year and be able to start switching gears into mass production … to really make sure we’re hitting the scale that our customers are asking for,” articulated Karan Kunjur.
