Inversion Raises $44 Million to Support “On-Demand Delivery from Space” Concept
Inversion will use funding to build its next-generation autonomous spacecraft, designed to provide a cost-effective way to deliver to the planet’s toughest spots from space – in minutes.
Los Angeles-based Inversion, a company pioneering precision delivery on-demand from space to anywhere on Earth, has announced via press release that it has completed a $44-million Series A funding round co-led by Spark Capital and Adjacent, with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, Kindred and Y Combinator. This brings Inversion’s total funding to $54 million, following an earlier $10-million seed round.
Inversion will use the funding to scale its operations and build Arc, its next-generation autonomous re-entry vehicle. Arc stores cargo in orbit and re-enters the atmosphere on-demand to deliver to even the most remote parts of the globe.
Inversion is using space as a tool to achieve what it refers to as the “holy grail” of logistics – delivery in minutes, anywhere – with autonomous re-entry vehicles that orbit the Earth and re-enter through the atmosphere on a moment’s notice to the planet’s toughest spots - at lower total cost than terrestrial solutions.
“Getting a package delivered from space anywhere in the world will fundamentally transform logistics, and autonomous re-entry vehicles are going to change the economics of delivery,” said Nabeel Hyatt, general partner at Spark Capital. “Inversion’s progress since their seed round on both the vehicles and their customer interest is testament to what a singular company Inversion Space is turning into.”
“SpaceX is significantly decreasing the cost of launching things into space and that opens up the opportunity for Inversion’s re-entry vehicles to deliver goods and gear anywhere at any time,” said Nico Wittenborn, founder of Adjacent. “I’ve been impressed with the team’s ability to build both the hardware and software needed in-house with very limited resources by scoring the support from the Department of Defense and other strategic partners. With fresh funding and strong macro tailwinds, I am excited to join the Board as an observer in this next chapter for the company.”
“Inversion’s innovative approach to on-demand delivery from space has the potential to revolutionize the way goods are transported and delivered globally,” said Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. “We’re excited to support them in their mission to make this vision a reality, unleashing the power of autonomous spacecraft technology to unlock new opportunities for industries and communities around the world.”
In addition to the Series A funding, Inversion reached significant milestones this past summer:
- It was awarded $71 million from SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force, to test and refine technologies that allow precision delivery on-demand from space to anywhere on Earth.
- Its Ray re-entry vehicle received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch and return, making Inversion the second company to be granted approval for re-entry under Part 450, which outlines regulatory requirements for commercial space transportation. Ray will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 as part of the upcoming Transporter-12 Rideshare mission.
“Space is currently used as a tool to deliver global internet connectivity and earth observation, both massive terrestrial existing markets. Inversion is introducing the third pillar – cargo delivery – transforming the $6-trillion logistics industry,” said Inversion co-founder and CEO Justin Fiaschetti. “We have proven our capabilities, and our Series A funding will help us iterate, scale and build our next generation of autonomous re-entry vehicles. Transportation and logistics advancements have been transformative throughout history – think of the societal impact of ships, trains and airplanes – and the ability to access anywhere on Earth in minutes will be just as groundbreaking.”
Information for this article was sourced from BusinessWire.
