Space Angels


Space Angels is an American angel investment and venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the space economy. Based in New York City, Space Angels is the world's most active investor in the space economy. As of May 3, 2019, the firm managed a $15 million Angel Fund and a $25 million venture capital fund.
Space Angels began publishing a quarterly update on space startup and investment activity in 2017, which coined the 2010s as the entrepreneurial space age. The report has been cited by the United States Secretary of Commerce and by the Vice President of the United States at the sixth meeting of the National Space Council.

History

Founded in 2007, Space Angels Network began by facilitating a small group of space enthusiasts’ investments in the nascent New Space sector. Over its first five years, it grew from four to 20 investing members, but its scale was limited by its informal structure.
In 2012, Chad Anderson began to lead the organization. Anderson, at the time an MBA student at the Oxford University, moved to New York after graduation to take on the full-time role of CEO.
Anderson took the next six years to professionalize, grow, and transform Space Angels Network. By 2015, Space Angels had shifted away from the decentralized investing model typical of an angel network. Space Angels began taking on a greater role in managing its members’ investments with the launch of an Angel Fund.
In early 2017, Anderson rebranded the firm, dropping the word “Network” from its name and selecting a new logo. In May 2020, Space Angels announced that the company will now be led by its Space Capital brand, an early-stage venture capital firm for institutional investors.

Business Model

Online Platform

To facilitate the Angel Fund model, Space Angels pioneered a new online investment platform to streamline the communication of investment opportunities, simplify legal documentation, and drive greater investor engagement.
Access to the online platform is restricted to Space Angels members and membership is limited to investors who qualify as accredited investors under Regulation D of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investments

Between 2015–2018, Space Angels made 37 investments in 26 portfolio companies, less than 2% of the companies it evaluated.
Some of the most notable investments include SpaceX, NanoRacks, Astrobotic, LeoLabs, Planet, Made in Space, ICEYE, and others.