Cardiff-based startup Space Forge has raised £22.6 million in a Series A funding round - the largest ever secured by a UK-based space company.
The round was led by the NATO Innovation Fund and included major backing from World Fund, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and the British Business Bank.
Other participants in the round include Innovation Investment Capital, Gaingels, SpaceVC, Unruly, Stellar, TypeOne, and the London Technology Club.
The capital will support the launch of ForgeStar-1, Space Forge’s first in-orbit demonstration mission later this year, and accelerate the development of its more advanced returnable satellite platform, ForgeStar®-2.
Space Forge is developing in-space manufacturing, leveraging the unique environment of space - microgravity, vacuum, and temperature extremes - to develop high-performance materials that are difficult or impossible to produce on Earth. The company’s reusable satellite platforms are designed to return these materials to Earth, enabling commercial scalability.
Its ambitions tap into a fast-emerging area of the space economy: orbital manufacturing. Materials made in space are expected to dramatically outperform their terrestrial counterparts—potentially cutting CO₂ emissions by up to 75 percent and reducing energy usage in applications like cloud data centres, EV charging, and quantum computing
“This funding marks a significant milestone—not just for Space Forge, but for the entire space economy,” said Joshua Western, CEO and co-founder of Space Forge. “With the backing of our investors, we’re accelerating our mission to make space a practical and accessible platform for industrial-scale manufacturing. Our upcoming launches will prove that the future of materials innovation lies beyond Earth, helping us build a more secure, sustainable, and technologically advanced world.”.
“Demand for computing power is doubling every two months,” said Daria Saharova, General Partner at World Fund. “Europe imports 80% of its chip supply, with 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors coming from Taiwan. A geopolitical escalation there could have catastrophic consequences for Europe. We urgently need a resilient, homegrown supply of the next-gen supermaterials required for the future of compute.”
The involvement of the NATO Innovation Fund, which has a mandate to advance dual-use technologies, underscores the strategic relevance of Space Forge’s work for both defence and civil markets.
“We are excited to be supporting Space Forge – a company that is innovating material manufacturing, while also advancing Europe’s access to space, supply chain independence and long-term resiliency,” said Chris O’Connor, Partner at the NATO Innovation Fund.
Sarah Jones, UK Minister for Industry, added: “This is great news for the UK’s space industry, and a vote of confidence in the cutting-edge advanced manufacturing technology Space Forge is pioneering in Wales.”
Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, echoed that sentiment: “By transforming the way we manufacture high-performance materials, Space Forge is not only pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in orbit, but will also deliver real-world benefits on Earth — from cleaner energy to more secure supply chains.”
Space Forge plans to launch ForgeStar-1 in 2025 and follow it with ForgeStar-2, a more advanced returnable satellite system. These platforms are designed for multiple missions, supporting sustainable orbital manufacturing without generating space debris. Active collaborations underway with major aerospace firms like Sierra Space and Northrop Grumman.
Photo by Kevin Stadnyk
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