PiggyGPT

Private companiesCovered

Starfish Space

Tukwila, WA · Founded 2019

Starfish Space builds Otter, an oven-sized spacecraft that docks with satellites never designed for servicing, to extend their lives in geostationary orbit or dispose of them in low Earth orbit, for the U.S. Space Force, the Space Development Agency, NASA and SES.

Profile

What it builds and who buys it

  • ·Otter is a servicing spacecraft of about 300 kg that docks with satellites without prior modifications, either to deorbit them or to act as an external engine that extends their life.Breaking Defense, Jan 21, 2026
  • ·Three in-house technologies carry the docking: CETACEAN computer-vision navigation software, CEPHALOPOD autonomous guidance software, and Nautilus, a capture mechanism that needs no docking fixture on the client.Starfish Space (company release), May 20, 2025
  • ·Space Systems Command awarded a $37.5 million STRATFI contract in May 2024 to build, launch and operate an Otter for two years of augmented maneuver for national security satellites in geosynchronous orbit.Starfish Space (release of Space Systems Command), May 20, 2024
  • ·Space Systems Command bought a second Otter for $54.5 million in February 2026 under the Pentagon’s APFIT program, for delivery in 2028. The company says it is the only APFIT award to a space company in that funding cycle.Starfish Space (company release), Feb 7, 2026
  • ·The Space Development Agency awarded $52.5 million in January 2026 for an Otter to deorbit satellites of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture at end of life, targeting launch in 2027 with options for more disposals.Starfish Space (company release), Jan 21, 2026
  • ·Intelsat signed in June 2024 for an Otter to dock first with a retired satellite in graveyard orbit and then extend the life of an operational geostationary satellite, beginning in 2026.Starfish Space (joint release with Intelsat), Jun 26, 2024
  • ·NASA awarded a $15 million Phase III SBIR contract in September 2024 for the SSPICY mission, in which an Otter inspects several defunct U.S. satellites in low Earth orbit.Starfish Space (release of NASA), Sep 25, 2024
  • ·The first Otter flies the SSPICY mission for NASA, after which Starfish plans to offer commercial services in low Earth orbit.Starfish Space (company release), Sep 24, 2026
  • ·The first full-size Otter went into orbit on October 1, 2026 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare.Cosmic Log (Alan Boyle), Oct 1, 2026
  • ·National Security Innovation Capital, within the Defense Innovation Unit, awarded $3 million in March 2023 to develop the Nautilus capture mechanism.Starfish Space (company release), Mar 30, 2023
  • ·AFWERX awarded a $1.8 million TACFI contract in August 2023 to develop the CEPHALOPOD guidance software.Starfish Space (company release), Aug 8, 2023
  • ·The National Reconnaissance Office named Starfish one of three companies to win study contracts for its Agile Launch Innovation and Strategic Technology Advancement effort in October 2024.SpaceNews, Oct 30, 2024
  • ·Otter Pup, the first demonstrator launched in June 2023, recovered from a fast spin and suffered a thruster anomaly. The mission ended with a rendezvous and imaging of a D-Orbit ION spacecraft at about 1 km in April 2024.Starfish Space (company release), May 7, 2024
  • ·Otter Pup 2 launched in June 2025 to attempt a docking in low Earth orbit. After plans to dock with a D-Orbit ION were scrubbed, Gilmour Space’s ElaraSat became its target in May 2026.Cosmic Log (Alan Boyle), May 20, 2026
  • ·The company had 70 employees at its Tukwila headquarters in November 2024.Starfish Space (company release), Nov 13, 2024

Founders and leadership

  • Austin LinkCo-founder and chief executive

    A flight sciences engineer at Blue Origin before co-founding Starfish with Trevor Bennett in 2019.TechCrunch, Nov 13, 2024

  • Trevor BennettCo-founder

    A flight sciences engineer at Blue Origin before co-founding Starfish with Austin Link in 2019.TechCrunch, Nov 13, 2024

Prospects, after the first Otter launch

Prepared by PiggyGPT, as of Oct 11, 2026

  • ·Funding has been small until 2026: $7 million, $14 million and $29 million across 2021–2024, then a Series B of over $100 million in April 2026. No round on file states a valuation, and every Form D declines to disclose a revenue range.SEC (Form D), Apr 8, 2026
  • ·Three of the five Otter missions on file are defense: two Space Systems Command Otters at $37.5 million and $54.5 million and the $52.5 million Space Development Agency deorbit service. NASA’s SSPICY at $15 million and an SES life-extension mission of undisclosed value complete the list.Starfish Space (company release), Feb 7, 2026
  • ·The record is still demonstrations. Otter Pup could not attempt a docking, Remora proved autonomous rendezvous at about 1,250 meters, and no source on file reports an Otter Pup 2 docking. The first full Otter reached orbit on October 1, 2026, for an inspection mission rather than a docking.TechCrunch, Jun 26, 2024
  • ·Delivery dates sit ahead: the SDA disposal Otter targets a 2027 launch and the APFIT Otter is due in 2028. The Intelsat mission was first set for 2026.Breaking Defense, Jan 21, 2026
  • ·For the acquisition read, the ties are an investor stake held by Booz Allen Ventures and a flight partnership with Impulse Space. Nothing has been reported as talks, and the company raised over $100 million in April 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

No citable valuation

Last round or tender

$100Mraised

Series BStarfish Space (company release), Apr 7, 2026

Announced as over $100 million, the floor recorded here. Led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by Activate Capital and Shield Capital, with Industrious Ventures and NightDragon. NFX, Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Ventures and PSL Ventures returned, and Nomi Capital, Gaingels and Overlap Holdings were new. The Form D for an offering begun March 24, 2026 records $111.7 million sold to 21 investors. No valuation was stated.

Latest revenue figure

—

Valuation to revenue

—

Post-money valuation by round

Fewer than two dated figures on file to plot; the table carries what there is.

DateRoundRaisedPost-money
Apr 7, 2026Series BAnnounced as over $100 million, the floor recorded here. Led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by Activate Capital and Shield Capital, with Industrious Ventures and NightDragon. NFX, Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Ventures and PSL Ventures returned, and Nomi Capital, Gaingels and Overlap Holdings were new. The Form D for an offering begun March 24, 2026 records $111.7 million sold to 21 investors. No valuation was stated.$100M—
Nov 13, 2024Funding roundLed by Shield Capital, with Point72 Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, Aero X Ventures, Trousdale Ventures and TRAC VC new, and Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Ventures, NFX and Industrious Ventures returning. The release names no series. The amended Form D for the offering begun September 12, 2024 records $29.5 million sold to 15 investors. No valuation was stated.$29M—
Mar 9, 2023Series ALed by Munich Re Ventures, with Toyota Ventures new and PSL Ventures, NFX and MaC VC returning. Payload names it the Series A. The Form D for an offering begun March 2, 2023 records $13.4 million sold to 6 investors. No valuation was stated.$14M—
Sep 28, 2021SeedCo-led by NFX and MaC Venture Capital, with PSL Ventures, Boost VC, Liquid2 Ventures and Hypothesis. TechCrunch calls it the seed round. The Form D for an offering begun September 23, 2021 records $7.9 million sold to 16 investors. No valuation was stated.$7M—

Primary capital across the rounds on file: $150M

Revenue

No citable revenue figure on file.

Secondary venues

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

    Clarity Price $6.59, 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 lists the April 2026 Series B at $111.7 million, $446.1 million and $6.34 a share, and a November 2023 Series A-1 that no filing or release on file shows.

  • Nasdaq Private Marketpublic page seen Oct 11, 2026

    No price on the public page.

    No price: the page carries no dated estimate and no figure in its title. Its funding table runs from a September 2021 seed to a Series B dated March 24, 2026 at $112 million, and masks every price and valuation.

  • Caplightpublic page seen Oct 11, 2026

    No price on the public page.

    No MarketPrice. The page says no recent secondary market data is available and that valuation information is not publicly available.

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

  • Sep 28, 2021Starfish raised $7 million co-led by NFX and MaC Venture Capital.Starfish Space (company release), Sep 28, 2021
  • Mar 9, 2023Starfish raised $14 million led by Munich Re Ventures, with Toyota Ventures joining.Starfish Space (company release), Mar 9, 2023
  • May 20, 2024Space Systems Command awarded Starfish a $37.5 million STRATFI contract to build, launch and operate an Otter for two years of augmented maneuver for national security satellites.Starfish Space (release of Space Systems Command), May 20, 2024
  • Jun 26, 2024Intelsat signed for an Otter to provide life extension to one of its geostationary satellites, Starfish’s first commercial Otter mission.Starfish Space (joint release with Intelsat), Jun 26, 2024
  • Nov 13, 2024Starfish raised $29 million led by Shield Capital, with Booz Allen Ventures and Point72 Ventures among the new investors.Starfish Space (company release), Nov 13, 2024
  • Dec 15, 2025Starfish and Impulse Space announced the Remora mission, in which Starfish software autonomously flew an Impulse Mira spacecraft to within about 1,250 meters of another Mira.Starfish Space (joint release with Impulse Space), Dec 15, 2025
  • Jan 21, 2026The Space Development Agency awarded Starfish $52.5 million for an Otter to deorbit satellites of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, with options for more disposals.Starfish Space (company release), Jan 21, 2026
  • Feb 7, 2026Space Systems Command awarded Starfish $54.5 million under the APFIT program for a second Otter, due for delivery in 2028.Starfish Space (company release), Feb 7, 2026
  • Apr 7, 2026Starfish announced a Series B of over $100 million led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by Activate Capital and Shield Capital. No valuation was stated.Starfish Space (company release), Apr 7, 2026
  • Oct 1, 2026The first full-size Otter went into orbit on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare.Cosmic Log (Alan Boyle), Oct 1, 2026

Named counterparties

  • Booz Allen HamiltonIts venture arm, Booz Allen Ventures, invested in the $29 million round of November 2024. No interest in a deal has been reported.Starfish Space (company release), Nov 13, 2024
  • Impulse SpaceFlew the Remora rendezvous mission with Starfish on an Impulse Mira spacecraft, announced in December 2025. No interest in a deal has been reported.Starfish Space (joint release with Impulse Space), Dec 15, 2025

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