True Anomaly raises $650 million, reaching $2.2 billion valuation

WASHINGTON — U.S. defense space startup True Anomaly announced April 28 it raised $650 million in a Series D funding round, valuing the company at $2.2 billion.

The financing coincides with the company’s entry into the Pentagon’s Golden Dome program, an effort to develop space-based interceptors designed to counter missile threats. 

True Anomaly is one of 12 contractors selected by the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command to develop prototypes for the program. 

“We’ve developed new hardware and software to support space-based interceptors specifically,” True Anomaly’s co-founder and chief executive Even Rogers said in an interview.

The Series D round was co-led by Eclipse and Riot Ventures, with participation from new investors including Paradigm, Atreides, G Squared, The Private Shares Fund and VanEck, alongside existing backers such as Accel, Menlo Ventures and Meritech Capital. The financing includes $50 million in debt from Stifel Bank.

The company has raised about $1 billion since its founding in 2022.

True Anomaly builds spacecraft and software for U.S. national security missions, including its Jackal satellite, designed to maneuver in orbit, and Mosaic, a mission software platform. It is among 14 companies selected by the Space Force to compete for contracts to develop satellites that monitor activity in geostationary orbit, a region about 22,000 miles above Earth where high-value military satellites operate.

The company has so far conducted initial on-orbit tests of Jackal in low Earth orbit to validate core systems such as propulsion and navigation. More complex missions are planned, including a third test flight, a tactically responsive Space Force mission known as Victus Haze, and future operations in geostationary orbit and cislunar space.

The fresh capital will be used to expand manufacturing and hiring, with the company aiming to produce up to 50 Jackal spacecraft annually at its facility near Denver, Rogers said. True Anomaly has also expanded to Long Beach, California, and has grown from about 150 employees last year to roughly 300, with plans to reach 500 by year-end.

The fundraising comes as investors and defense officials increase focus on space as a potential domain of conflict. The Golden Dome space-based interceptors program is drawing interest from across the space industry. Unlike traditional missile defense systems that operate from the ground or sea, space-based interceptors would be stationed in orbit and positioned to track and potentially disable hostile satellites or incoming missiles during early phases of flight. The concept remains in development and faces technical and cost challenges.

Rogers said the company intends to invest in hardware and software for national security applications and sees long-term demand for systems designed to operate in contested environments.

Asked about plans for an IPO, Rogers said the company is not setting a timeline but is monitoring investor appetite for space and defense companies.