The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Starfish Space: 1 model, 1 deployment across 1 region, $21.0M raised. 1 source back the record.
CategorySpace
Overview
Starfish Space is a US satellite-servicing startup based in Tukwila, Washington, building the autonomous Otter servicing vehicle with CETACEAN autonomy software for on-orbit satellite Inspection, maintenance, and life extension.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 1 deployment on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
DEPLOY VERIFIEDPriced roundSeries A post-money
Key facts
Robot
Technology
Focus
Country
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Starfish Space on the deployment map
View the global map1 verified deployment across 1 region, newest verified Jun 2023. Explore where Starfish Space's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full Starfish Space deployment record →
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Austin Link Co-founder and CEOsince 2019-01-01secondary-verified
- Trevor Bennett Co-founder and CTOsince 2019-01-01secondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Austin Linkcofounderfounded 2019-01-01
- Trevor Bennettcofounderfounded 2019-01-01
Safety record
No incidents on record for Starfish 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 →
Operator customers (1)
- Starfish Space1 deployment
Recent coverage
Starfish Space in third-party press
Founders on the frontiers of space and robotics show off their gadgets and tell the stories behind them - GeekWire
Starfish Space shifts its sights to Australian satellite for orbital docking demonstration - GeekWire
Space Force eyes 2027 demonstrations of in-space refueling and satellite servicing - SpaceNews
Peers
56 peers across 1 segment. Every Starfish 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%
- Airbusdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Astrobotic Technologydirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Astroscaledirect competitor(inferred)strong
- Boeingdirect competitor(inferred)strong
- China Manned Space Agencydirect competitor(inferred)strong
- China National Space Administrationdirect competitor(inferred)strong
Financial state
- Total funding
- $21.0M
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- 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.
Funding rounds (2)
Starfish Space’s 2 disclosed rounds, $21M in total, oldest to newest.
- Series A2023-03-01
$14M(reported) · $84M post
Investors: Munich Re Ventures (lead), Toyota Ventures
- Seed2021-09-29
$7M · $28M post
Investors: NFX (lead), MaC Venture Capital (lead)
Timeline
Every recorded move in Starfish Space’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
Funding roundSeries A funding round
2023-03-01Series A raising $14000000
Funding roundSeed funding round
2021-09-29Seed raising $7000000
Key hireAustin Link joins as Co-founder and CEO
2019-01-01Austin Link appointed Co-founder and CEO (current)
Key hireTrevor Bennett joins as Co-founder and CTO
2019-01-01Trevor Bennett appointed Co-founder and CTO (current)
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 6, 2026
Starfish Space Otter Pup
- Record createdJun 5, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 12, 2023
Otter at Low Earth Orbit
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is Starfish Space?
What does Starfish Space make?
Who competes with Starfish Space?
Who is the CEO of Starfish Space?
Where is Starfish Space headquartered?
How much funding has Starfish Space raised?
Where does Starfish Space operate robots?
How many robots has Starfish Space deployed?
Is Starfish Space a top robotics company?
When was Starfish Space founded?
Is Starfish Space 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
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Starfish Space.Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- SpaceX3 models
- Astroscale2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Starfish Space from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Founders on the frontiers of space and robotics show off their gadgets and tell the stories behind them - GeekWire
<a…
Starfish Space shifts its sights to Australian satellite for orbital docking demonstration - GeekWire
<a…
Space Force eyes 2027 demonstrations of in-space refueling and satellite servicing - SpaceNews
<a…
GeekWire Awards: The machines of the future, from self-driving earthmovers to space robots - GeekWire
<a…
The New Frontier of Space Infrastructure: Why NightDragon Invested in Starfish Space
By Hannah Huffman, Partner, Aerospace and Defense The next chapter of the space economy won’t be defined only by how many assets we launch, but by how well we sustain, protect,…
Space takes the stage at SXSW 2026 - The Aerospace Corporation
<a…
Starfish Space wins $54.5M Space Force contract for another satellite servicing vehicle - GeekWire
<a…
US Space Force Awards Starfish Space $52.5 Million for Proliferated LEO Deorbit Services - satnews.com
<a…
Orbital Robotics reaches out with a plan to build robotic arms that use AI - GeekWire
<a…
Starfish Space and Impulse Space successfully complete low-Earth orbit mission - spaceconnectonline.com.au
<a…
Starfish Space, Impulse Space Perform Autonomous Rendezvous Ops - Aviation Week
<a…
Starfish Space and Impulse Space demonstrate autonomous spacecraft proximity operations - SpaceNews
<a…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/starfish-space.md
- RSS feed: /companies/starfish-space/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/2a862391-f08f-40d9-bb48-50528ecc552a
- Revision history: /companies/starfish-space/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- AstroForge3 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- SpaceX3 models
- Astroscale2 models
Video
In Fall 2023, Starfish Space's Otter Pup spacecraft will rendezvous, maneuver in close proximity to, and dock with an operational satellite in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). This will be the first ever satellite docking with ele
In this week’s space news we cover a UK robotic welding project in space. K2 Space raises $250 million dollar in seed funding. Starfish and Impulse Space demons
Starfish Space provides satellite servicing missions with its Otter servicing vehicle. The vehicle is designed to be used for life extension missions, end of li
Scientists in Australia are going to use robots to hunt a starfish that's devouring the Great Barrier Reef. See more at http://www.newsy.com/ Follow Christian
https://spacegeneration.org/sgx2023 "Space Sustainability" Thematic Lightning Talk Dr. Trevor Bennett - Co-Founder, Starfish Space, Starfish Space Dr. Trevor
Chinese astronauts have successfully tested a new maintenance robot on the Tiangong space station during the Shenzhou-19 mission. The robot, designed to mainta
Founded by Blue Origin veterans, Starfish Space raises $7M for satellite servicing tug https://www.geekwire.com/2021/founded-blue-origin-veterans-starfish-space
Sock Puppet News breaks down the story: Space Starfish Space raises $29M to launch satellite-servicing spacecraft missions Aria Alamalhodaei 9:00 AM PST · Novem
Sock Puppet News breaks down the story: Space Starfish Space raises $29M to launch satellite-servicing spacecraft missions Aria Alamalhodaei 9:00 AM PST · Novem
Starfish Space announces the successful stabilization of the Otter Pup. Hurricane Idalia causes delays to ULA’s launch of the NRO Silentbarker satellite. Roboti
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
Starfish Space draws attention at the 55th percentile but verifies reality at the 7th percentile among space robots. Hype Gap +47.2, 7th widest among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 1 verified deployment. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category 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 4, 2026