Insider Brief:
- Xona Space Systems has secured $19 million in its Series A funding round.
- The round was led by Future Ventures and Seraphim Space with participation from new investors NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq.
- The financial boost will help launch PULSAR™, a satellite service designed to be an ultra-accurate alternative to traditional GPS.
Xona Space Systems, a company focused on developing a network of small satellites for high-precision navigation services, announced the successful closure of an oversubscribed $19 million Series A funding round. Future Ventures and Seraphim Space led the funding round, with participation from new investors NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq.
The funding will propel Xona’s efforts to accelerate the deployment of its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network as they move closer to commercialization. This financial boost will also kickstart beta operations of their PULSAR™ satellite service, designed to provide robust precision guidance crucial for the scaling of intelligent and autonomous technologies.
Brian Manning, CEO and co-founder of Xona, likened their PULSAR™ service to the North Star of previous centuries, stating, “AI and automation are the future – our PULSAR™ service aims to be for these industries what the North Star was for humanity.”
Rob Desborough, General Partner at Seraphim Space, emphasized the importance of Xona’s work in reducing dependence on GPS, stating, “Waiting for GPS to fail, or for hostile powers to spoof it, is not an option for our security or commercial industries.”
Compared to GPS, PULSAR™ offers significant improvements in accuracy, availability, and security, which are essential for the future of autonomous systems and the protection of vital national infrastructure. Xona’s technology enables devices to confidently determine their location to within a few centimeters, even in previously unexplored locations.
Steve Jurvetson, co-founder and managing partner at Future Ventures, expressed excitement about Xona’s potential impact, stating, “Xona is building a powerful, precise, and protected platform for global geolocation services.”
The Xona team, composed of experts from companies like SpaceX, Ford, NASA, and Blue Origin, has achieved significant progress in satellite development, user equipment integration, and commercialization. Xona’s partners and customers include US government agencies and industry giants such as the US Space Force and Spirent.
Brian Manning highlighted Xona’s pioneering role in both precision LEO navigation and the commercialization of satellite navigation itself, noting, “This round is a testament to our team’s ability to overcome challenges and bring our vision to life.”
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