The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies AstroForge: 3 models, $53.0M raised, 2 active incidents. 2 sources back the record.
CategorySpace
Overview
Huntington Beach, California-based asteroid mining company developing spacecraft to extract and refine platinum-group metals (PGMs) from near-Earth M-type asteroids. Founded in 2022 by Matt Gialich and Jose Acain, AstroForge aims to become the first commercial entity to mine asteroids, targeting precious metals used in AI, electric vehicles, and medicine. The company has launched two demonstration missions (Brokkr-1 and Odin) and is preparing its third mission (DeepSpace-2/Vestri) to land on a Target asteroid.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- 2 incidents on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries A post-money
Key facts
Founded
HQ
Notable
Goal
Data & sources
Web sources
2
2 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (3)
View all models →Current platform
DeepSpace-2
AstroForge's third demonstration spacecraft (also known as Vestri), a 200-kg spacecraft designed to rendezvous with and land on a metallic near-Earth asteroid to characterize its composition and quantify extractable precious metals. Planned to launch as a rideshare on Intuitive Machines' IM-3 mission in the second half of 2026.
Current platform
Odin
AstroForge's second demonstration spacecraft (also designated Brokkr-2), a 100-kg deep-space probe built to fly by near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5 and determine whether it is metallic. Launched Feb 27, 2025 as a rideshare on Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission; lost contact within 24 hours and was declared lost on March 6, 2025.
Current platform
Brood
AstroForge's first orbital spacecraft (also designated Mission 1), a 6U CubeSat built by British manufacturer OrbAstro and named Brokkr-1 after the Norse mythological dwarf. Launched April 15, 2023 aboard SpaceX's Transporter-7 rideshare mission to Low Earth Orbit, it was designed to demonstrate asteroid-material refinement by vaporizing an asteroid-like simulant and separating platinum-group metals from other constituents. The mission encountered immediate communication problems: the magnetic field generated by the onboard refinery interfered with the satellite's attitude-control system, preventing proper solar-panel deployment and antenna alignment. Although a signal was eventually received on May 5, 2023, the refinery demonstration could not be completed and the mission was effectively a failure.
Partnerships
Every company AstroForge has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most-frequent partners
- 1Intuitive Machines1× joint1 total
- 2SpaceX1× joint6 total
Most recent
- with Intuitive Machinesoperating
- AstroForge x SpaceX (Transporter-7)2023-01-30with SpaceXoperating
AstroForge on the deployment map
View the global mapAstroForge has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for AstroForge on the DEPLOY record yet. Track AstroForge to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Matt Gialich Co-founder & CEO, Co-foundersecondary-verified
- Jose Acain Co-founder & CTO, Co-foundersecondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Matt Gialichcofounderno longer at company
- Jose Acaincofounderno longer at company
Safety record
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting AstroForge (2)
- AstroForge's Odin deep-space spacecraft lost contact 24 hours after launch, declared lost2025-02-27 · Malfunction
via Odin
- AstroForge's Brokkr-1 cubesat loses communication after launch, fails refinery demonstration2023-04-15 · Malfunction
via Brood
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Recent coverage
AstroForge in third-party press
Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DJI7 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Gobio Robot6 models
- Impulse Space6 models
Financial state
- Total funding
- $53.0M
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships
2 total · 2 operating · 1 ended
Every company AstroForge has built with, alongside the ones only announced in a press release.
Most recent
- with Intuitive Machinesoperating
- AstroForge x SpaceX (Transporter-7)2023-01-30with SpaceXoperating
Most-frequent partners
- 1Intuitive Machines1× joint1 total
- 2SpaceX1× joint6 total
All 2 partnerships
open in the atlas →- deployment2023-12-11operating
- deployment2023-01-30concludedoperating
Funding rounds (2)
AstroForge’s 2 disclosed rounds, $53M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series A2024-08-20
$40M(reported) · $240M post
Investors: Nova Threshold (lead), Seven Seven Six (follow), Initialized Capital (follow), Caladan (follow), Uncorrelated Ventures (follow)
- Seed2022-09-15
$13M(reported) · $52M post
Timeline
Every recorded move in AstroForge’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2024-08-20Series A raising $40000000
PartnershipAstroForge x Intuitive Machines (Rideshare)
2023-12-11AstroForge's Odin spacecraft launched as a rideshare payload on Intuitive Machines' IM-2 lunar mission (Feb 2025), and the upcoming DeepSpace-2/Vestri spacecraft is planned to launch on IM-3 in late 2026. Intuitive Machines provides the launch transport to deep space for AstroForge's asteroid missions.
PartnershipAstroForge x SpaceX (Transporter-7)
2023-01-30AstroForge's first spacecraft, Brokkr-1, launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 Transporter-7 rideshare mission on April 15, 2023, to low Earth orbit. SpaceX provided the launch vehicle and rideshare integration for the 6U cubesat.
Funding roundSeed funding round
2022-09-15Seed raising $13000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdAug 7, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Incident recordedFeb 27, 2025
AstroForge's Odin deep-space spacecraft lost contact 24 hours after launch, declared lost
- Incident recordedApr 15, 2023
AstroForge's Brokkr-1 cubesat loses communication after launch, fails refinery...
Sources (2)
Common questions
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Is AstroForge a top robotics company?
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Are there any incidents involving AstroForge?
Is AstroForge safe?
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 2
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for AstroForge.Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DJI7 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Gobio Robot6 models
- Impulse Space6 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning AstroForge from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
AstroForge preps for second attempt at reaching an asteroid
AstroForge prepares its DeepSpace-2 spacecraft for a second attempt at reaching a metallic asteroid after the Odin mission failure.
First-Ever Asteroid Mining Mission Loses Contact With Earth
AstroForge's Odin spacecraft lost contact with Earth less than 24 hours after launch, marking a setback for the first commercial deep-space mining mission.
AstroForge: This company is set to launch a scouting mission to an asteroid
CNN profiles AstroForge ahead of its Odin deep-space mission launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9, highlighting CEO Matt Gialich and the company's asteroid mining ambitions.
Asteroid-mining company AstroForge gets 1st-ever FCC license for commercial deep-space mission
Space.com coverage of AstroForge receiving the first-ever FCC commercial deep-space spectrum license, with background on the Brokkr-1 cubesat demonstration.
AstroForge - Wikipedia
Wikipedia overview of AstroForge, covering the Brokkr-1 cubesat refinery demonstration mission, Odin/Brokkr-2 deep-space spacecraft, and DeepSpace-2 asteroid lander.
AstroForge raises 0 million
AstroForge raised 0M Series A led by Nova Threshold, bringing total funding to 5M to support its third mission, Vestri.
Against all odds, an asteroid mining company appears to be making headway
Ars Technica profiles AstroForge's progress toward asteroid mining, including its third mission plans to land on an asteroid.
An Update on Our Progress Towards Mining in Space
AstroForge's official mission update detailing Brokkr-1's refinery demonstration status, the magnetic-field orientation issue, and the renaming of Mission 2 to Odin.
AstroForge's first asteroid-mining demo mission fails after launch
Gizmodo coverage of AstroForge's Brokkr-1 cubesat communication failure after its April 2023 SpaceX Transporter-7 launch.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/astroforge.md
- RSS feed: /companies/astroforge/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/2275e925-ada2-4006-bee0-ebb142c85ac2
- Revision history: /companies/astroforge/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Roborock20 models
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DJI7 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Gobio Robot6 models
- Impulse Space6 models
Video
Learn more about our space investment thesis from Andrew Sather, principal at Initialized Capital.
AstroForge mines asteroids to extract valuable minerals in space. The team gave us a tour of their headquarters in Seal Beach, California, demonstrating their w
Join us as we delve into the groundbreaking work of AstroForge, a company on a mission to revolutionize resource extraction from asteroids! 🌌 Discover how cutt
The gold in your phone might soon come from an asteroid. Quick breakdown of Space mining via AstroForge with practical takeaways you can use immediately. Watch
This week in space startup news we cover the explosion of RFA’s rocket at SaxaVord space port. Next we cover a company with a plan to mine lunar ice for profit.
Asteroid-mining startup AstroForge to launch 1st space missions California-based asteroid-mining startup AstroForge has announced its plans to launch its first
Episode showcases AstroForge, a swarm-driven lattice that self-assembles to navigate extreme environments. Viewers learn how swarm coordination and adaptive mat
Heat Index
Category contender79/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
AstroForge draws attention at the 21st percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 22, 2026