Space Security Company True Anomaly Emerges from Stealth
True Anomaly, a company focused on space security, stability, and sustainability, has come out of stealth and raised $30 million in funding to date, including its recent $17 million Series A led by Eclipse in partnership with Riot Ventures, Champion Hill Ventures, Space.VC, and Narya.
"We need to address the capability asymmetry that has emerged in the space domain in the last two decades as the U.S. and its allies have focused military efforts primarily on Counterinsurgency Operations."
True Anomaly Co-Founder and CEO, Even Rogers.
Founded in early 2022, the True Anomaly team is composed of former military operators and engineers focused on building spacecraft and software solutions designed to secure U.S. commercial and military interests in space and train ready and credible forces. The company has created a fully-integrated platform with seamless satellite, navigation, and data-capture technologies designed to provide unparalleled security and training for the rapidly evolving space market. In under a year, the company designed its first spacecraft, the Jackal Autonomous Orbital Vehicle, opened a 35,000 square foot factory in Denver, and hired 57 employees. With this most recent round of funding, True Anomaly will validate the technical abilities and operational capabilities of the Jackal and make the necessary investments to scale production later this year.
Space Security Needed for Commercial and Military Applications
As the world faces intense geopolitical conflicts and a constant stream of climate events and natural disasters, space systems have never been more critical to ensuring economic prosperity and global security. However, today's systems are outdated and highly vulnerable to both physical and cyber threats. With launch costs significantly down and space technology rapidly evolving, those threats are rising exponentially.
With extensive U.S. government and military experience, the True Anomaly team has a deep understanding of these increasing international space security risks and the urgency with which they need to be mitigated. By building an integrated technology stack, True Anomaly will enable the U.S. and its allies to understand activity in the space domain, deploy resilient systems, train combat-ready forces, and compete responsibly.
"Space-based technologies have played a pivotal role in enabling the U.S. to employ instruments of national power, and it's imperative that we invest in upgrading and protecting those technologies," said True Anomaly Co-Founder and CEO, Even Rogers. "We need to address the capability asymmetry that has emerged in the space domain in the last two decades as the U.S. and its allies have focused military efforts primarily on Counterinsurgency Operations. If we don't act quickly and with a sense of urgency, our nation and its allies will be at an increased risk of geopolitical conflict and escalation of conflict that extends into space, which could lead to potentially catastrophic debris-generating outcomes as a result of attacks on our spacecraft."
The private and public sectors must join forces to enact meaningful, pivotal change to overcome intense national space security challenges and must do so dramatically faster than the 7-10 years currently consumed by legacy military space programs. Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) continue to prioritize space resilience and responsible competition with the creation of a new military branch, the Space Force in 2019, and year-over-year USSF budget increases. True Anomaly plans to match the government's commitment by applying the team's collective expertise in space operations doctrine, tactics, and technology to build the solutions needed to enable continued U.S. military advantage in space and protect the burgeoning private sector space economy.
"The U.S. terrestrial military advantage has been enabled by superior capabilities in the space domain," said Seth Winterroth, Partner at Eclipse. "This advantage is quickly waning and as a result, the U.S. and our Allies face risks and challenges. True Anomaly is the purpose-built team with the tactical, technological, and defense procurement expertise to develop the necessary capabilities to regain our military advantages in space and ultimately, bolster national security."
(Source: True Anomaly news release. Images provided)