CategorySpace
Overview
Pioneer in Modular, solar-powered, passively cooled, AI-optimized orbital computing technology. Founded in 2023 by former NASA/JPL Fellow Dr. Leon Alkalai (CTO) and Rob DeMillo (CEO). Building TILE orbital computing platform for in-space data centers. Born out of Mandala Space Ventures, leveraging IP from a USD 100M solar power beaming grant. Total funding USD 13.5M including USD 10M seed round in Feb 2026.
Reality check
TILE platform (company-claimed)
Modular Thermal-Integrated LEO Edge modules with patented cooling for in-orbit data processing and AI on satellites, defense systems and space stations.
Target workloads (company-claimed)
Aims to cut latency and bandwidth for Earth-observation workloads by processing data where it is generated.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Key facts
Seed investors (company-stated, Feb 2026)
Use of funds (company-stated)
CTO background
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Sophia Space on the deployment map
View the global mapSophia Space has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Sophia Space on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Sophia Space to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Dr. Leon Alkalai CTO & Foundersecondary-verified
- Rob DeMillo CEO & Co-foundersecondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Dr. Leon Alkalaisolefounded 2023-01-01
- Rob DeMillo
Safety record
No incidents on record for Sophia Space.
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 →
Recent coverage
Sophia Space in third-party press
Peers
56 peers across 1 segment. Every Sophia Space competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
space(56)
36 companies in this segment · low_concentration (HHI 1188.742650389188) · leader K2 Space at 2172%
- Aetherfluxdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Agile Space Industriesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Airbusdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Albedo Spacedirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Astrobotic Technologydirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Astroscaledirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Mentioned on (2)
Registry pages whose text names Sophia Space.
People (2)
Financial state
- Total funding
- $10.0M
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.
Funding rounds (1)
- Seed2026-02-24
Investors: Alpha Funds (lead), KDDI Green Partners Fund (lead), Unlock Venture Partners (lead)
Timeline
Every recorded move in Sophia Space’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeed funding round
2026-02-24Seed
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdAug 8, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Sophia Space?
What does Sophia Space make?
Is Sophia Space publicly traded?
Who competes with Sophia Space?
Who is the CEO of Sophia Space?
How can I invest in Sophia Space?
Where is Sophia Space headquartered?
How much funding has Sophia Space raised?
Who owns Sophia Space?
Where does Sophia Space operate robots?
Is Sophia Space a top robotics company?
Is Sophia Space safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-10-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-10-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Sophia Space.Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- Blackswan Space3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Sophia Space from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Sophia Space and Redwire Team Up to Advance Orbital Data Center Infrastructure
Companies sign MOU to explore collaboration on deployable structures, spacecraft integration and scalable architectures for in-orbit Artificial Intelligence and edge computing LAS…
An unusual $300M deal aims to fund orbital computing
Sophia Space and SLI, an aerospace leasing venture based in Washington, D.C., say they’ve agreed on a $300 million asset-financing framework that will support the creation of a…
Sophia Space, SLI Set Terms for $300M Satellite Leasing Deal
Orbital compute startup Sophia Space and space asset leasing company SLI have set terms for a $300M asset-financing deal. The post Sophia Space, SLI Set Terms for $300M Satellite…
Sophia Space and Caltech File Orbital Data Centers Patent
Sophia Space and Caltech collaboratively issued Patent No. 12,679,564, titled Space-Based Data Centers. The patent—filed in October 2024 and issued on July 14, 2026—covers…
Sophia Space wins a patent for cool orbital data centers
Sophia Space has secured a patent for a technology that could pave the way for solar-powered orbital data centers that passively radiate excess heat into space. Developed in…
Sophia Space and Caltech claim patent for space data centers
SAN FRANCISCO – Sophia Space announced the award July 30 of a patent, shared with the California Institute of Technology, covering large, modular space-based data centers. The…
Sophia Space Raises $10M for Build Orbital Data Center Tech
Sophia Space closed USD 10M seed round led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund, and Unlock Venture Partners. Total funding reached USD 13.5M. Born from Mandala Space…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/sophia-space.md
- RSS feed: /companies/sophia-space/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/43e71017-148d-4b65-9512-e6f04b3dd32c
- Revision history: /companies/sophia-space/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- Blackswan Space3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3 models
Video
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Sophia is a humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics. She became an internet sensation after her first appearance in 2016. Sophia was given Saudi Arabia citi
Sophia, a new AI humanoid robot created by David Hanson of Hanson Robotics She has been granted the citizenship in Saudi Arabia. Sophia defies conventional thi
Another new video from the "AI Evolves" channel. In this video, we delve into the dynamic landscape of modern robotics, focusing on the incredible creations of
Meet Sophia, the AI robot transforming our understanding of artificial intelligence! In this video, we dive deep into her groundbreaking capabilities and the sh
Heat Index
Category contender75/100
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
Sophia Space draws attention at the 86th percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Broad public reach with 12.0M video views. Limited public funding data for capital position assessment.
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: Nov 6, 2026