PiggyGPT

Private companiesCovered

Apex Space

Los Angeles, CA · Founded 2022

Apex builds productized satellite buses (Aries, Nova and Comet) ahead of orders at its Factory One plant in Los Angeles, for defense primes, the U.S. Space Force and commercial constellation operators.

Profile

What it builds and who buys it

  • ·Apex sells three bus platforms, Aries, Nova and Comet, for missions in low Earth and geostationary orbit, built ahead of orders; the Comet Mini configuration carries payloads as large as 3,000 kg.Apex (company release), Jun 5, 2026
  • ·The first Aries went from clean-sheet design to orbit in under 12 months and had operated for more than two years by September 2026; the company says it has delivered over a dozen platforms with 100 percent customer mission success.Apex (company blog), Sep 2, 2026
  • ·Factory One in Los Angeles opened on October 6, 2025, with the FCC chairman at the ribbon cutting.Aviation Week, Oct 7, 2025
  • ·The company says Factory One can produce over 200 satellites a year at peak; in June 2026 it added 30,000 square feet to the campus and put headcount at over 350, more than double a year earlier.Apex (company release), Jun 5, 2026
  • ·The chief executive said in June 2026 that more than two-thirds of the business is national security and defense and that nearly every major defense prime is a customer, some undisclosed; he put the Aries line at 30 percent vertically integrated and Nova at more than 70 percent.Via Satellite, Jun 5, 2026
  • ·Insourced avionics and power systems were joined in 2025 by Phase Four’s Hall-effect thruster technology, which Apex acquired to produce propulsion in house.Apex (company release), Sep 12, 2025
  • ·Space Systems Command awarded a $45.9 million contract in February 2025 for satellites to be delivered by 2032 across multiple orbits, after a $2 million SBIR Phase 2 contract in 2023 tied to Tactically Responsive Space.SpaceNews, Feb 13, 2025
  • ·The Space Development Agency named Apex to its first HALO vendor pool of 19 companies in October 2024, eligible to compete for future prototype orders.Apex (company release), Oct 23, 2024
  • ·Anduril buys Apex buses and missionizes them, flying its Lattice-based mission data processor; it bought a dedicated bus in 2024 for a 2025 launch.TechCrunch, Sep 30, 2024
  • ·Northrop Grumman named Apex a collaborator on its space-based interceptor demonstration for the Space Force in June 2026, with ground tests complete and on-orbit capability targeted for 2027.Northrop Grumman (company release), Jun 1, 2026
  • ·Project Shadow is Apex’s own $15 million space-based interceptor demonstration: a Nova bus configured as an Orbital Magazine carrying two scaled-down interceptors, run in parallel to the Northrop work.Payload, Jun 2, 2026
  • ·The Nova bus flew to orbit for the first time on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 in July 2026; Loft Orbital bought one Nova for October delivery with an option for up to nine more.Payload, Jul 15, 2026
  • ·NEC bought an Aries bus in March 2026 for a 2027 optical communications demonstration in a 1,000 km orbit, Apex’s first Japanese customer.Apex (company release), Mar 19, 2026
  • ·A March 2026 partnership with Kongsberg Satellite Services gives Apex customers KSAT’s ground stations and mission operations.Apex (company release), Mar 24, 2026
  • ·Under the Factory X model, Apex will help Elveo Mobile stand up its own U.S. spacecraft factory for a direct-to-device constellation, announced in September 2026; a December 2025 memorandum with 4iG SDT and REMRED explores the same for Europe.Apex (company release), Sep 14, 2026

Founders and leadership

  • Ian CinnamonCo-founder and chief executive

    Founded Synapse Technology, which Palantir acquired in 2020, before co-founding Apex in 2022.TechCrunch, Oct 24, 2022

  • Maximilian BenassiCo-founder and chief technology officer

    An engineer with six years at SpaceX and nearly a year and a half at Astra before co-founding Apex.TechCrunch, Oct 24, 2022

  • Michael KopetChief financial officer

    Named in June 2026; previously vice president of finance at Axon.Apex (company release), Jun 5, 2026

Prospects, after the June 2026 raise

Prepared by PiggyGPT, as of Oct 11, 2026

  • ·Capital has come quickly: about $200 million each in April 2025, September 2025 and June 2026, with the stated valuation moving from over $1 billion to $2.3 billion in nine months. The latest money carries no series name, and its Form D records $156.8 million sold by July 2026 against the over $200 million announced.SEC (Form D), Jul 22, 2026
  • ·No revenue figure is public, and every Form D on file declines to disclose a revenue range. The chief executive said in April 2025 that product sales were generating revenue that could sustain operations without the Series C.Via Satellite, Apr 29, 2025
  • ·Demand on the record is mostly through primes and largely undisclosed. The largest government award on file is the $45.9 million Space Force contract of February 2025; the rest is a defense share the chief executive puts above two-thirds and customer names such as Anduril, Northrop Grumman, NEC and Loft Orbital.Via Satellite, Jun 5, 2026
  • ·Golden Dome is the largest exposure. Apex is a collaborator on Northrop Grumman’s space-based interceptor demonstration for 2027 and is funding its own Project Shadow; Nova reached orbit in July 2026, and no source on file reports the demonstration interceptors being fired.Payload, Jun 2, 2026
  • ·The production story is capacity ahead of deliveries: Factory One is sized for over 200 satellites a year, and the company counted over a dozen platforms delivered by September 2026. It is now selling the factory model itself to Elveo Mobile and, by memorandum, to 4iG in Europe.Apex (company blog), Sep 2, 2026
  • ·For the acquisition read, the ties are partnerships, not stakes: Northrop Grumman on interceptors and Anduril as a buyer of buses. No strategic investor is on file, nothing has been reported as talks, and the company raised over $200 million at a higher mark in June 2026. The posture is watch.

A summary of what the figures on this page add up to, prepared by PiggyGPT from the record on file and its cited sources. Not the Street's view, and not advice.

Funding

Last valuation

$2.3B

Post-money, Funding roundApex (company release), Jun 5, 2026

Last round or tender

$200Mraised

Funding roundApex (company release), Jun 5, 2026

Announced as over $200 million of new growth funding, the floor recorded here, led by Glade Brook Capital Partners and co-led by Washington Harbour Partners. The chief executive told Payload the company is not labelling it a series. The Form D for an offering begun April 10, 2026 records $156.8 million sold to 30 investors by July 22, 2026.

Latest revenue figure

—

Valuation to revenue

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Post-money valuation by round

$0$500M$1B$1.5B$2B$2.5BDec '25Mar '26Jun '26Sep '26$2.3B Funding round
DateRoundRaisedPost-money
Jun 5, 2026Funding roundAnnounced as over $200 million of new growth funding, the floor recorded here, led by Glade Brook Capital Partners and co-led by Washington Harbour Partners. The chief executive told Payload the company is not labelling it a series. The Form D for an offering begun April 10, 2026 records $156.8 million sold to 30 investors by July 22, 2026.$200M$2.30B
Sep 12, 2025Series DLed by Interlagos. The release puts the valuation at over one billion dollars, the floor recorded here. The Form D for an offering begun August 29, 2025 records $151.9 million sold to 26 investors.$200M$1.00B
Apr 29, 2025Series CLed by Point72 Ventures and co-led by 8VC, with Andreessen Horowitz returning and Washington Harbour Partners and StepStone Group new. The Form D for an offering begun April 16, 2025 records $158.2 million sold to 25 investors. No valuation was stated.$200M—
Jun 11, 2024Series BLed by XYZ Venture Capital and co-led by CRV, with Upfront, 8VC, Toyota Ventures, Point72 Ventures and Mirae Asset Capital among the new investors; Payload names it the Series B. The Form D for an offering begun May 24, 2024 records $71.9 million sold to 21 investors. No valuation was stated.$95M—
Jun 22, 2023Series AAnnounced June 22, 2023 and led by Andreessen Horowitz and Shield Capital, taking the total raised past $27 million. The Form D for an offering begun June 16, 2023 records $15.6 million sold to 6 investors. No valuation was stated.$16M—
Oct 24, 2022SeedLed by Andreessen Horowitz, with XYZ Venture Capital, J2 Ventures, Lux Capital and Village Global, announced as the company emerged from stealth. The Form D for an offering begun October 17, 2022 records $7.8 million sold to 7 investors. No valuation was stated.$8M—

Primary capital across the rounds on file: $719M

Revenue

No citable revenue figure on file.

Secondary venues

  • Clarity (formerly Hiive)public page seen Oct 11, 2026

    Clarity Price $20.99, as of Oct 11, 2026

    Clarity calls the figure a model-derived indicative estimate calculated daily; the page dates it no further than a "last updated" line reading August 28, 2026. Its round table names the June 2026 raise a Series E at $2.3 billion and $20.05 a share.

  • Nasdaq Private Marketpublic page seen Oct 11, 2026

    No price on the public page.

    No price: the page says the company has no publicly available stock price and carries no dated estimate. Its funding table ends at a Series D of September 11, 2025, with no 2026 round, and masks every valuation.

  • Caplightpublic page seen Oct 11, 2026

    No price on the public page.

    No MarketPrice on the public page. The page is titled Agile Planetary Exploration, Inc. and describes an in-space infrastructure company, but its round dates (October 24, 2022 to June 5, 2026) and investors are Apex’s; it shows an estimated valuation of $2.3 billion based on funding round data.

  • Jarsypublic page seen Oct 11, 2026

    No price on the public page.

    A tokenized pre-IPO platform. The public page describes Apex Space and shows a "Latest Valuation" heading with no figure and no token or share price, and says its valuations may reflect past financing rounds and may not represent a price at which anyone can transact.

A venue is listed when its public page named the company on the date shown. A price is the figure that page showed, under the venue’s own name for it and dated as the venue dated it; it is a level the venue publishes, not a trade. Nothing is recorded from behind a login.

Reads

Acquisition: Watch

A cited tie to a plausible buyer: a strategic partner, an investor stake, a tender offer, a stated appetite. Nothing reported.

Prepared by PiggyGPT, as of Oct 11, 2026

Signals

  • Oct 24, 2022Apex emerged from stealth with a $7.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz.TechCrunch, Oct 24, 2022
  • Jun 22, 2023Apex raised a $16 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz and Shield Capital.SpaceNews, Jun 23, 2023
  • Jun 11, 2024Apex closed $95 million led by XYZ Venture Capital and CRV, with Toyota Ventures and Point72 Ventures among the new investors.TechCrunch, Jun 11, 2024
  • Sep 30, 2024Anduril announced it would buy Apex satellite buses and missionize them with its own payloads, having already bought a dedicated bus to launch in 2025; TechCrunch called it a rare case of Anduril partnering with a supplier rather than building the product or acquiring the supplier.TechCrunch, Sep 30, 2024
  • Oct 23, 2024The Space Development Agency named Apex to its HALO vendor pool, making it eligible to compete for future prototype orders.Apex (company release), Oct 23, 2024
  • Feb 13, 2025Space Systems Command awarded Apex a $45.9 million contract for an unspecified number of satellites to be delivered by 2032, its largest government deal to date.SpaceNews, Feb 13, 2025
  • Apr 29, 2025Apex announced a $200 million Series C led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by 8VC.Apex (release via PR Newswire), Apr 29, 2025
  • Sep 12, 2025Apex announced a $200 million Series D led by Interlagos at a valuation over one billion dollars, and said it had acquired Phase Four’s Hall-effect thruster technology.Apex (company release), Sep 12, 2025
  • Oct 22, 2025Apex announced Project Shadow, a privately funded mission to fire two demonstration space-based interceptors from an Apex spacecraft, scheduled to launch in June 2026.Apex (company release), Oct 22, 2025
  • Dec 17, 2025Apex signed a memorandum with Hungary’s 4iG SDT and its subsidiary REMRED to explore a joint venture for satellite mass production in Europe.Apex (company release), Dec 17, 2025
  • Jun 1, 2026Northrop Grumman named Apex an industry collaborator on its space-based interceptor demonstration for the Space Force, with on-orbit capability targeted for 2027; no value or equity component was disclosed.Northrop Grumman (company release), Jun 1, 2026
  • Jun 5, 2026Apex announced over $200 million of new funding at a $2.3 billion valuation, led by Glade Brook Capital Partners and co-led by Washington Harbour Partners, and named Michael Kopet chief financial officer.Apex (company release), Jun 5, 2026
  • Sep 14, 2026Elveo Mobile announced a partnership under which Apex will help it stand up a dedicated U.S. spacecraft factory for its direct-to-device constellation.Apex (company release), Sep 14, 2026

Named counterparties

  • Northrop GrummanNamed Apex an industry collaborator on its Golden Dome space-based interceptor demonstration in June 2026. No interest in a deal has been reported.Northrop Grumman (company release), Jun 1, 2026
  • Anduril IndustriesA customer since 2024 that buys Apex buses and missionizes them with its own payloads; TechCrunch noted Anduril chose to partner rather than acquire the supplier. No interest in a deal has been reported.TechCrunch, Sep 30, 2024

Counterparties are named for a cited reason: a partnership, an investment, or a stated appetite. Naming is not a forecast.

A summary of what the figures on this page add up to, prepared by PiggyGPT from the record on file and its cited sources. Not the Street's view, and not advice.

Sources

Researched Oct 11, 2026