Startup profile for Starcloud: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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Starcloud funding, valuation and investors

Orbital data-center satellites for AI inference, starting with an Nvidia H100 in space.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series A extension

$250M · August 2026

Latest known valuation

$2.3B

Series A extension · August 2026

Total disclosed equity funding

$420M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

private

series a · Redmond, Washington, USA

Investors in latest funding

Lead: Manhattan West Ventures

Other: Benchmark , Y Combinator , Nvidia , Cisco

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-09-02

Overview

Starcloud builds data-center satellites for AI inference in orbit. Headquarters are Redmond, Washington, with a 100,000-square-foot production line in Woodinville. On August 21, 2026 the company told TechCrunch it added a $250 million extension to its March Series A at a $2.3 billion valuation, led by Manhattan West Ventures, with Nvidia, Cisco, Benchmark, EQT, Soma, NFX, 776, Cedar Capital, Goanna Capital, and Standard Capital participating. A person familiar said Nvidia put in $25 million — not a company figure. Starcloud-1 flew an Nvidia H100 in November 2025. Starcloud-2 is an 8 kW compute satellite aimed at 2027 rideshares; Starcloud-3 is intended for SpaceX Starship. The company has asked the FCC to operate 88,000 spacecraft and employs about 25 people. Prior close: $170 million Series A at $1.1 billion on March 30, 2026, led by Benchmark and EQT, 17 months after Y Combinator demo day. Manhattan West, EQT, NFX, and Nvidia do not have Venture Capital Tracker fund pages. Revenue was not disclosed.

Why Starcloud is interesting

August 21, 2026: $250M Series A extension at $2.3B, led by Manhattan West — a launch-capacity print, not a neocloud mark. Google still ranks the March $1.1B unicorn. Nvidia’s $25M is people-familiar. Revenue was not disclosed.

Product & use cases

Orbital data-center satellites providing GPU inference in space, with a path from a single H100 bird to Starship-class compute.

  • On-orbit AI inference for government and commercial customers
  • GPU compute for other satellites
  • Bypassing terrestrial power interconnect and permitting delays

Key facts

  • Aug 21, 2026: $250M Series A extension at $2.3B; Manhattan West lead (TechCrunch; company told TC)
  • Nvidia $25M is people-familiar (TechCrunch), not a company disclosure
  • Mar 30, 2026: $170M Series A at $1.1B, Benchmark + EQT; YC’s fastest unicorn at the time (Business Wire). AfterQuery is the Sep 1 reported faster clock.
  • Starcloud-1: Nvidia H100 in orbit (Nov 2025). Starcloud-2: 8 kW, 2027 rideshares. Starcloud-3: Starship-class.
  • Revenue not disclosed. ~25 employees. FCC request for 88,000 spacecraft is a filing, not a verified license.

Funding history (newest first)

Series A extension

2026-08 $250M Valuation: $2.3B

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/

Series A

2026-03 $170M Valuation: $1.1B

Source: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260330024111/en/CORRECTING-and-REPLACING-Starcloud-Raises-%24170M-Series-A-at-%241.1bn-Valuation-Led-by-Benchmark-and-EQT-Ventures

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Starcloud's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Benchmark Y Combinator

Competitive landscape

Edge: Only known operator of a terrestrial-class H100 in orbit, feeding Nvidia’s space-GPU work. That is a technical lead, not a disclosed revenue multiple. The $2.3B print is a launch-and-factory bet.

Starcloud is priced as orbital inference ($2.3B) next to Groq’s terrestrial neocloud ($3.5B) and Etched’s silicon ($21B). The diligence gate is 2027 rideshares and Starship cadence, not another valuation headline.

  • Groq adjacent

    Terrestrial inference neocloud at $3.5B (Aug 17). Same job, Earth physics. See /startup/groq.

  • AWS/Azure/GCP incumbent

    Terrestrial hyperscaler expansion; dominant near-term.

  • SpaceX adjacent

    Launch provider Starcloud is trying to book (Starship / Falcon 9). See /startup/spacex.

  • Muon Space adjacent

    Satellite platforms that may host orbital compute payloads. See /startup/muon-space.

Notable stories

  • Aug 21, 2026: $250M at $2.3B; Manhattan West lead (TechCrunch)
  • Nov 2025: Starcloud-1 H100 in orbit; first LLM trained in space (YC/company)
  • Mar 30, 2026: $170M at $1.1B; YC’s fastest unicorn 17 months after demo day (Business Wire)
  • CEO Philip Johnston told TechCrunch the company is booking launch early because Falcon 9 is scheduled to end around 2028 while Starship cadence is still ramping (Aug 2026).

Industries

Space Tech Infrastructure & Cloud Deep Tech AI & Machine Learning

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Starcloud's financing or category context.

FAQs about Starcloud

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

$2.3 billion as of the August 21, 2026 Series A extension. That supersedes the March $1.1 billion Series A and The Information’s earlier ~$2.2 billion target.
A $250 million Series A extension. It is not a Series B. See /2026-starcloud-250m-2-3b-orbital-inference and /2026-starcloud-250m-series-a-extension-2-3b.
Manhattan West led. Directory names: Benchmark (/fund/benchmark) and Y Combinator (/fund/y-combinator). Nvidia, Cisco, and EQT do not have fund pages here. Nvidia’s $25 million is people-familiar.
It builds orbital data-center satellites for AI inference. Starcloud-1 flew an Nvidia H100; Starcloud-3 is intended for SpaceX Starship.
No. TechCrunch cites about 25 employees and a Woodinville manufacturing line. The FCC 88,000-spacecraft figure is a request, not a verified license.
Series A private. The August 2026 instrument is an extension of the March A.
Groq is a $3.5B terrestrial inference neocloud. Starcloud is a $2.3B orbital inference manufacturer. Same job, different physics.
Private as of August 2026.
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