K2 Space has rocketed into the spotlight with its ambitious plans to build monster satellites, securing $50 million in new funding to fuel its mission. Co-founders and brothers Karan Kunjur, CEO, and Neel Kunjur, Chief Technology Officer, are on a trajectory to launch their first satellite on a demonstration mission later this year, just two years after founding the company.
The latest funding round, led by tech investor Brad Gerstner’s Altimeter Capital, adds to the $8.5 million in seed funding K2 previously raised from investors including First Round Capital and Republic Capital. While the company declined to specify its valuation after the latest round, Karan Kunjur emphasized that the funding is tailored to meet the growing demand for launching constellations of Mega class satellites.
K2’s Mega class satellite bus, designed to fit in “heavy” and “super heavy” rockets, is poised to capitalize on the burgeoning market. With rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy already in operation, and others like SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn on the horizon, K2’s Mega satellites are priced at $15 million each and can support up to one ton of payload mass. This means that 10 Mega satellites could fit in a single Falcon 9 rocket.
The Kunjur brothers are gearing up for significant expansion, planning to add a 150,000 square foot facility later this year and grow the company to more than 50 employees. The goal is to begin mass production to meet the scale demanded by customers, which include commercial “large satellite operators” and the Department of Defense (DOD). K2 has already secured approximately $6.5 million in DOD contracts over the past eight months.
Neel Kunjur highlighted the company’s modular design, which allows customers to customize their satellites based on their mission needs. This flexibility has garnered interest from various sectors, including defense, as K2 aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of its Mega design in its upcoming mission.
As K2 prepares to launch its first satellite and expand its operations, the Kunjur brothers are set on reaching new heights in the satellite industry, offering customers a menu of options to meet their diverse mission requirements.
(Source: BNN | CNBC)
