Capella Space Raises $60M in Growth Equity from the United States Innovative Technology Fund

Jan. 10, 2023

Capella Space has closed $60 million in growth equity financing from the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund ("USIT"). Capella will leverage this growth capital to expand its imaging capacity and develop new data products as customer demand grows for its frequent, timely and high-quality SAR imagery and analytics capabilities. 

Based in the U.S., Capella is revolutionizing the way that critical industries across the public and private sectors collect and analyze Earth observation data to make informed and accurate decisions. Its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites can penetrate all types of weather conditions – clouds, fog, smoke, rain – to capture clear imagery day and night, delivering accurate and timely data about what is happening anywhere on Earth at any given moment. Coming off the heels of the company's $97 million Series C financing in April, this follow-on round reflects the rapidly increasing demand for Capella's end-to-end radar-powered, high-quality SAR imagery and analytics services.

Access to reliable, 24-7, high-quality Earth observation data has never been more critical as the world today faces intense geopolitical, environmental and humanitarian challenges. This funding will enable Capella to build and launch its next-generation Acadia satellites, which the company manufactures entirely in the U.S. at its facilities in California and Colorado. This new technology offers an enhanced design to deliver higher resolution and quality, increased imaging capacity and faster delivery capabilities for customers, many of which rely on Capella's data to inform mission-critical decisions. The company will also expand its automated, intelligent advanced analytics offerings within the Capella Console, the company's on-demand tasking platform, to continue delivering the highest quality, highest resolution SAR imagery with the fastest order-to-delivery time.

"Technological competitiveness is vital to our country's future," said Thomas Tull, Chairman of USIT. "Capella's cutting-edge SAR technology allows us to have accurate, real-time information about what is happening on our planet, enabling decision-makers to more quickly make critical decisions about pressing geopolitical challenges. This work that they are doing is essential to the world's future and I'm proud that we are able to support Capella and their mission to democratize and innovate space data."

This year has proven to be one of the company's strongest to date. Capella announced it has tripled revenue since 2021, with a twofold increase in imagery collected, and grown its headcount by more than 50% in 2022. Capella Space expects to grow even more in 2023 as the company doubles down on sales and marketing efforts and explores new business lines.

Capella also announced three new members of its executive team. Chad Cohen joins Capella Space as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) to guide future expansion and growth for Capella as well as oversee Capella's operations across the company. Cohen brings 25 years of experience, most recently as CFO of Adaptive Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: ADPT) where he led the company through its 2019 IPO, and prior to that he spent nearly 10 years at Zillow (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) where he also oversaw the company through its 2011 IPO. Capella also appointed Glen Elliott as the company's first-ever Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Elliott joins Capella after nearly nine years of consulting with some of the biggest names in tech, including Adobe, Tesla, 23andMe and more. Prior to consulting, Elliott held various management and leadership positions at companies such as Google and HP. Finally, Paul Stephen joins Capella as the new Chief Information and Security Officer (CISO) to lead the IT, network operations and security operations functions of Capella Space. Stephen brings nearly two decades of IT experience, having managed entire technology stacks at companies like Zillow, Impinj (NASDAQ: PI) and most recently, Avalara.

"Our customers are solving some of the world's toughest problems, from geopolitical conflicts to humanitarian crises, climate change, supply chain logistics, and more. They need high-quality, high-resolution Earth observation data to inform them of potentially life-saving decisions, and Capella Space is stepping up to ensure they have accurate, timely information," said Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space. "As we enter this next phase of growth, I'm excited to announce this follow-on round of funding from USIT, who understands our value to the world and will help us take Capella's work to the next level. Expanding our leadership team with Chad, Paul and Glen underscores our growth, and they will all play key roles in helping us accomplish these goals."

"Demand for reliable Earth observation data is at an all-time high, and Capella Space has proven it is leading the market with the highest-resolution, highest-quality SAR imagery commercially available. The company is at an important inflection point in its growth, and this capital will set Capella Space up well to expand into new markets," said Cohen. "I look forward to working with Payam and the rest of the Capella Space team to advance the company's goal of democratizing access to timely and accurate Earth observation data."

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