Investors Put More Than $55 Billion Behind Space Startups Last Year |
In this week’s edition of The Prototype, we look at the booming space industry, better space weather forecasts, the first medical evacuation from space and more. To get The Prototype in your inbox, sign up here.
AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan has seen his wealth jump by over $1 billion today. That’s thanks to his company’s stock price rising more than 14% on the news that it has signed an agreement with the U.S. federal government to use its communications satellites as part of the military’s “Golden Dome” program to provide defense against missile attacks.
That stock surge is part of a bigger trend of investor interest in the burgeoning space economy, which is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. This week, VC firm Space Capital noted in its quarterly report on the industry that 2025 was a record year for investment in space startups, hitting a total of $55.3 billion. And the biggest category wasn’t rockets but rather applications: companies that are taking data or using space in other ways to bring economic benefits here on Earth.
Also noteworthy is the number of startup exits, a sign the sector is maturing. The report notes that there were 91 acquisitions in the space sector last year, totalling more than $46 billion. And eight space companies had IPOs last year, taking in a total of $3.6 billion in the process.
So what should you look for in 2026? The biggest event, most likely, is a SpaceX IPO, which the report says “would........