K2 Space Raises $500 Million in Series D, Valuation Approaches $7 Billion

K2 Space has closed a $500 million Series D funding round that values the company at close to $7 billion. The financing brings the satellite manufacturer's cumulative capital raised to more than $1 billion and comes as it prepares to scale production of large, high-power spacecraft. The company announced the round on July 30.

K2 has positioned itself around a strategy of building bigger satellites for both commercial and defense customers. Its Torrance, California facility is designed for industrial-scale production of large, high-power satellites, a capability the company plans to demonstrate with its upcoming Trinity mission, which will operate across multiple Earth orbits.

Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ led the round, with participation from CapitalG, Lightspeed, Altimeter, Spark Capital, Sands Capital, ARK Invest, T. Rowe Price Associates, and other existing investors. Alongside the capital raised, K2 has secured more than $1 billion in signed commercial and government contracts.

Recent contract wins underpin that demand. K2 won a contract with SES to provide an initial tranche of 30 satellites to the operator. The company will also play a role in the U.S. Golden Dome project, working on the space-based interceptor missile defense program, where it will supply satellites to its program partner, Anduril.

Co-Founder and CEO Karan Kunjur framed the round as validation of the company's founding thesis. "When my brother Neel and I started K2 four years ago, we took a contrarian bet that building bigger would be the future for exploring and developing space," Kunjur said. "This latest round validates that thesis and gives us the capital to accelerate scaling as we prepare to build up to 100 large satellites per year. We've carefully planned and positioned our infrastructure, supply chain, and talent pipeline to meet the significant production demand from our customers."

The company states that the new capital will fund an increase in manufacturing capacity toward a target of up to 100 large satellites per year, supported by its infrastructure, supply chain, and talent pipeline.

K2 has named the Trinity mission and its target of scaling to up to 100 large satellites annually as its next milestones, along with delivering the initial 30 satellites to SES and supplying spacecraft to Anduril for the Golden Dome space-based interceptor program.