ABL Space Systems Rockets to $2.4 Billion Valuation

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

ABL rocket

Rocket builder ABL Space Systems announced a $200 million funding round on Monday, its biggest to date.


The deal values the El Segundo-based firm at $2.4 billion, seven months after it blew past the $1 billion mark to reach so-called unicorn status. Previous investors including T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, and others chipped in.

ABL says the latest injection of capital will go toward scaling production of its first rocket, the RS1 launch vehicle as well as to "conduct research and development of future systems."

Their RS1 aims to carry up to 1,350 kg into low Earth orbit — around 200 kilometers above the Earth. ABL is among a number of U.S. rocket builders like Long Beach-based Rocket Lab and Hawthorne-based SpaceX that are competing in the growing small satellite market.

In a possible dig at SpaceX and Elon Musk's grandiose talk of turning humans into an interplanetary species, ABL positions its rocket as a low-cost way to launch payloads: "No over-design, no gimmicks—just reliable, regular launches."

Co-founded in 2017 by former senior SpaceX engineer Harry O'Hanley, ABL has recently secured large contracts with Lockheed Martin, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Asked about the origin of the ABL name, co-founder and chief financial officer Dan Piemont told dot.LA by email, "There's no specific meaning behind it. Consider it a celebration of the storied history of opaque acronyms in space travel."

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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