Stoke Space funding, valuation and investors

Overview

Stoke Space Technologies is a Kent, Washington rocket company developing fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicles. Nova Pathfinder targets ~3 t to LEO with full first- and second-stage reuse; Nova Block 2 targets 15 t to LEO. Founded by Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman. September 8, 2026 Series E: ~$1B initial close co-led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital; total capital $2.3B. Reuters reported ~$10B valuation.

Why Stoke Space is interesting

September 8, 2026 ~$1B Series E initial close co-led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital — $2.3B total raised before first orbit — funding Nova Pathfinder (early 2027) and 15-ton Nova Block 2 (2029).

Product & use cases

Nova is a fully reusable medium-lift orbital rocket with a methalox first stage (7× Zenith engines, RTLS or drone-ship landing) and a hydrolox second stage with an integrated metallic reentry heat shield — designed for rapid turnaround and return shipments from orbit.

• LEO constellation deployment where launch cadence and cost per kg matter
• Government and defense missions requiring launch diversity beyond SpaceX
• Orbital logistics — capture, reposition, and return of in-space assets enabled by reusable upper stage

Key facts

• Series E (Sep 8, 2026): ~$1B initial close; $2.3B total capital (company press)
• Co-led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital; YC and USIT among participants
• Nova Pathfinder first orbital target: early 2027; Nova Block 2 (15 t LEO) target: 2029
• Valuation ~$10B is Reuters-reported, not company-stated in the Series E press
• Series D extension (Feb 2026): $860M total in round; $1.34B lifetime capital raised (Stoke press)
• Nova: 100% reusable two-stage rocket; ~3,000 kg to LEO; LC-14 at Cape Canaveral (Stoke site)
• NASA partnership (2026) to advance upper-stage re-entry capabilities (Stoke press)
• Kevin Weil (OpenAI product leader) joined board July 2026 (Stoke press)

Funding history (newest first)

Investors in our directory

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

Competitive landscape

Edge: Full second-stage reusability via a regeneratively cooled metallic heat shield — eliminating expendable upper stages that dominate most commercial launchers — plus vertically integrated manufacturing with a private test facility three hours from HQ.

Launch redundancy is a strategic priority for U.S. government and constellation operators. Stoke must prove Nova through engine qualification and LC-14 activation before competing on cadence with SpaceX; its upper-stage reuse thesis is differentiated but unproven in flight.

• SpaceX Starship/Falcon 9 direct

  Market leader in reuse; Starship also targets full reusability but at super-heavy-lift scale with a longer development timeline.

• Rocket Lab Neutron direct

  Medium-lift reusable launcher in development; first stage reuse only — upper stage remains expendable.

• Relativity Space Terran R direct

  Reusable medium-lift competitor; 3D-printed manufacturing approach vs. Stoke's steel-tank, rapid-iteration model.

• Blue Origin New Glenn incumbent

  Heavy-lift reusable first stage; not targeting full second-stage reuse like Nova.

Notable stories

• Stoke's second stage uses 24 thrust chambers ringing a regeneratively cooled metallic heat shield — eliminating traditional thermal tiles (Wikipedia, Stoke Nova page).
• NASA selected Stoke in 2026 for a partnership advancing upper-stage re-entry capabilities on Nova (Stoke press).

Industries

Market / IPO context

Related funding articles

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

• September 8–9 Investment News: Cognition $48B, Space Reuse Megarounds, Forus $3B
• Stoke Space’s $1B Series E: Point72 and Spark Fund Full Reuse Before First Orbit
• Stoke Space's $350M: Fully Reusable Rockets Become a Pacific Northwest Story