The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Starcloud: 1 model, $170.0M raised. 1 source back the record.
CategorySpace
Overview
Space compute company building solar-powered data centers that operate in orbit. YC S24 startup, fastest unicorn in YC history (17 months post-demo day). Founded Jan 2024 by Philip Johnston (CEO), Ezra Feilden (CTO), and Adi Oltean (Chief Engineer) in Seattle.
Launched Starcloud-1 (Nov 2025) with Nvidia H100 — first to train an LLM in space. USD 170M Series A (Mar 2026) at $1.1B valuation led by Benchmark. FCC filing for 88,000-satellite constellation. Starcloud-2 launching Oct 2026 with Nvidia B200.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries A post-money
Key facts
Data & sources
News coverage
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Starcloud on the deployment map
View the global mapStarcloud has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
No verified deployments for Starcloud on the DEPLOY record yet. Track Starcloud to know the moment the first one is verified.
Relationships
Current leadership (1)
- Philip Johnston CEO & Co-foundersecondary-verified
Founders (1)
Safety record
No incidents on record for Starcloud.
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
Starcloud in third-party press
Peers
56 peers across 1 segment. Every Starcloud 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
Financial state
- Total funding
- $170.0M
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- mature
- Counterparty risk class
- unknown
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)
- Series A2026-03-30
$170M(reported) · $1.0B post
Investors: EQT Ventures (co_lead), Y Combinator (follow), Manhattan West (follow), Dennis Muilenburg (follow), Benchmark (co_lead), NFX (follow), Nebular (follow), Adjacent (follow), 776 Ventures (follow), Fuse Ventures (follow), Monolith Power Systems (follow), Stephen Wilson (follow), Kevin Johnson (follow)
Timeline
Every recorded move in Starcloud’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2026-03-30Series A raising $170000000
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 Starcloud?
What does Starcloud make?
Is Starcloud publicly traded?
Who competes with Starcloud?
Who is the CEO of Starcloud?
How can I invest in Starcloud?
Where is Starcloud headquartered?
How much funding has Starcloud raised?
Who owns Starcloud?
Where does Starcloud operate robots?
Is Starcloud a top robotics company?
When was Starcloud founded?
Is Starcloud safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-21
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Starcloud.Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3 models
- SpaceX3 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Starcloud from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Fermi Explorer Wants to Reach Another Star for $15M
The Starcloud cofounders announced the Fermi Explorer mission, launching humanity’s first mission to Alpha Centauri by 2029, on a $15M budget. The post Fermi Explorer Wants to…
If space data centers feel far-fetched, why not interstellar travel?
The team behind Starcloud's orbital data centers has a new high-risk space project: Sending a probe to Alpha Centauri.
Starcloud Closes $250M Extension to Scale Orbital AI Data Centers, Reaching $2.3B Valuation
Starcloud, a startup building satellites capable of performing AI inference in orbit, has added a $250 million extension to its March Series A round, bringing total funding to…
Starcloud Announces $250M Series A Extension
Starcloud has raised a $250M extension to its March $170M Series A funding round, bringing it to a a $2.3B valuation. The post Starcloud Announces $250M Series A Extension…
20 GW of computing capacity: NVIDIA-backed US startup to build data centers in space
US-based startup Starcloud has raised $250 million in a Series A extension at a $2.3...
Starcloud raises $250M to build AI data centers in orbit
Artificial intelligence hardware startup Starcloud Inc. today announced that it has raised $250 million in funding at a $2.3 billion valuation. Investment firm Manhattan West led…
Starcloud raises $250M more for orbital data centers
Starcloud says it has raised $250 million in new funding to support the creation of a constellation of data center satellites powered by Nvidia’s next-generation AI chips. The…
Starcloud Adds $250M to Series A at a $2.3B Valuation
Orbital data center startup Starcloud added $250 million to its Series A round just five months after the raise, more than doubling its valuation to $2.3 billion. Manhattan West…
Starcloud raised $250mn to buy rockets it cannot yet book
Starcloud has raised $250mn to put AI compute in orbit, and a large part of the money is earmarked for rockets it cannot yet book. The Series A extension values the company at…
Starcloud raises $250 million for orbital data centers as launch options dry up
There's about to be a big fight to secure access to space.
Starcloud raises $170M for space-based data centers, hits $1.1B valuation
Starcloud raised USD 170M Series A at USD 1.1B valuation led by Benchmark. Fastest YC unicorn ever. Starcloud-1 launched Nov 2025 with Nvidia H100 — first LLM trained in space.…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/starcloud.md
- RSS feed: /companies/starcloud/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/8bd99611-a452-4406-8fac-0594fac675d2
- Revision history: /companies/starcloud/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory3 models
- SpaceX3 models
Video
Nvidia-backed startup Starcloud is working to create data centers in space. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz talks to CEO of Starcloud Philip Johnston about the company's mission and how it will work. For more context and news
Starcloud Founder & CEO Philip Johnston believes data centers in space are the first step to becoming a Kardashev level civilization. And today, Starcloud annou
Hello, curious minds, Elaira here! Let me show you the stories shaping our intelligent future. – Starcloud is taking data centers off the planet — where solar
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
Starcloud draws attention at the 81st percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Well-capitalized with $170M raised and recent funding activity. Meaningful press and media coverage across the period.
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