Spacetech startup Space DOTS connects with $1.5 million in pre-seed funding round

Space DOTS, a London-based spacetech startup, is set to revolutionise the space industry by raising $1.5 million in pre-seed funding, aiming to accelerate materials development and mitigate mission failures.

The round saw investment from Boost VC, Sie Ventures, 7Percent Ventures, and Blue Wire Capital. Angel investors Elaine Lau and Alex Ionescu also participated in the round.

As she discussed at this year’s Tech.eu Summit, Space DOTS co-founder and CEO Bianca Cefalo, the current state of how materials are tested for use in space is not only time-consuming and expensive but commercially and environmentally unsustainable.

Cefalo explained that NASA reports a staggering 41% failure rate for small satellites, meaning nearly half of these missions result in either total or partial failure.

While the company has remained tight-lipped about the exact ‘hows’ concerning its offer, what is known is that its smartphone-sized modular and scaleable Barnacle DOT product can rideshare on any platform and interface with a variety of launchers, allowing it to reach any orbit and ultimately testing beyond microgravity. 

By testing in a material’s actual intended environment, not only can developers test faster, cheaper, and simpler, but also achieve a higher rate of validity, a situation that should dramatically reduce that 41% failure rate as quoted by NASA.

“You wouldn’t test a rain jacket in the sun,” says Cefalo. “At Space DOTS, we are proposing an evolution to the legacy approach of testing and qualifying materials for space. We intend on becoming the trusted partner to space companies globally when it comes to in-orbit research and development and this funding will put us on the path towards doing just that.”