Space Angels - Venture Capital and Private Equity

Teddy McCullough

Professor

Venture Capital and Private Equity

VC/PE Overview

Space Angels Overview

Space Angels is a pooled venture capital fund focused solely on areas within the aerospace industry. The Company was founded in 2007 by Esther Dyson, Stephen Fleming, David Rose, and Ed Tuck and is run by Chad Anderson. While The Company bills itself as a “global network for angel investors,” the company’s sole capital fund is registered with the SEC as a venture capital fund. The Company is based in New York, with virtual offices in major cities around the world.

Space Angels is currently made up of over 250 investors. The minimum investment for investors into the company is $50,000. However, a typical investment falls between $500,000 and $1,000,000. The company invests in early-stage companies in, what it states as, “the top 5% of space investment opportunities.” The Company charges a 2% management fee to investors and takes 20% of the increase in value of an investment.

The Company has invested in nearly 60 companies since its inception, but is currently invested in 19 companies, with five new investments this year. Many of the company’s deals are made with co-investors and co-ventures and are typically Series-A and Series-B investments. Space Angels accounts for 18% of total investment in the space industry this year and is expected to maintain that level of investment. The Space Industry received over $2 billion in private investment last year and that number is expected to reach nearly $2.5 billion this year.

Some of the company’s more notable investments include Planetary Resources, Planet, Iceye, and Made in Space.

Planetary Resources is a space mining company whose goal is to “expand Earth’s natural resource base” by developing asteroid mining technologies. The company recently launched its first satellites which will detect the quantity and value of water and other resources available on near-Earth asteroids. Space Angels invested in Planetary Resources because it sees asteroid mining as a huge long-term market opportunity.

Planet (formerly Planet Labs), owns and operates the largest private satellite fleet with over 130 satellites in orbit. Planet also recently acquires Google’s satellite fleet. As a result, the company is able to image anywhere on Earth daily at a variety of resolutions. Planet’s satellites are capable of photographing in near-infrared and has video capabilities. The company operates a cloud-based platform that allows for cost-effective and nearly instantaneous data being delivered to its clients. Space Angels invested in Planet due to the increased demand for Earth imaging services and for the broad range of industries requiring these services.