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Balerion Space Ventures invests in Northwood Space's $100M Series B round to accelerate ground infrastructure for the next generation of space operations. News provided by. Investment advances Balerion's thesis on mission-critical infrastructure, as ground systems emerge as a defining bottleneck in expanding the space economy DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Balerion Space Ventures today announced its strategic investment in Northwood Space's $100 million Series B funding round. The investment represents Balerion's continued deployment of capital into the foundational infrastructure powering the emerging space economy and reinforces the firm's position as a leading investor in companies building the critical systems required to scale space operations. "Private capital is accelerating the commercialization of space at an unprecedented pace," said Phil Scully, Co-Founder and General Partner at Balerion Space Ventures. "As launch costs collapse, the bottleneck shifts to Earth. Ground infrastructure is the critical foundation every orbital mission depends on, and the companies building that enabling layer will define the space economy for decades to come. That's where Balerion invests." The investment reflects Balerion's conviction that the next phase of value creation in the space economy will be driven by infrastructure companies addressing real operational constraints. As orbital activity accelerates and satellite constellations scale, ground systems have emerged as a defining limitation. Northwood's vertically integrated approach aligns directly with Balerion's strategy of backing foundational platforms that unlock scale across commercial and government missions. Northwood also announced a $49.8 million contract award from the U.S. Space Force to upgrade the Satellite Control Network, validating the dual-use value proposition that is central to Balerion's portfolio strategy across space and defense technologies. Balerion's investment in Northwood follows the firm's recent announcements of investments in Antares Industries, Samara Aerospace, and Valar Atomics, demonstrating the firm's systematic approach to backing mission-critical platforms across launch, in-orbit systems, advanced manufacturing, energy, and dual-use defense technologies. The firm's multi-disciplinary team leverages deep expertise in aerospace engineering, venture capital, and institutional investing to identify and support companies building the backbone of the new space economy. About Balerion Space Ventures Balerion Space Ventures is a frontier technology capital firm backing the infrastructure of the emerging space and national security economy. The firm's multi-disciplinary team, with expertise spanning aerospace engineering, venture capital, and institutional investing, has been investing in companies defining the next industrial revolution beyond Earth's surface since 2022. With a portfolio of investments across launch, in-orbit systems, advanced manufacturing, energy, and dual-use defense technologies, Balerion focuses on mission-critical platforms with durable, scalable economics. The firm backs founders building the backbone of the space economy as private enterprise unlocks the next generation of trillion-dollar markets. For more information, visit www.balerionspace.com. SOURCE Balerion Space Ventures

From Disney star to space CEO: Bridgit Mendler raises $100M for space startup Northwood. Two years ago, when Bridgit Mendler quietly stepped into the space industry, the story wasn't about splashy valuations or government contracts. It was about antennas, ground stations, and a belief that the hardest part of space wasn't getting rockets off the ground, but getting data back down to Earth. Northwood Space, the satellite ground infrastructure startup co-founded by Mendler, has raised a $100 million Series B round led jointly by Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, Bloomberg reported. The company declined to disclose its valuation. The new capital will fund manufacturing scale-up as Northwood races to meet demand from commercial satellite operators and government customers working under tight mission timelines. "Northwood, a maker of critical ground infrastructure for space satellites, raised $100 million in a new funding round led jointly by Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz," Bloomberg wrote. TechStartups first covered Northwood in early 2024, shortly after its launch and seed round. Back then, Mendler described the company's goal in plain terms: remove the bottlenecks between satellites and the people who rely on their data. "The vision is a data highway between Earth and space," Mendler said at the time. "Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite." Former Disney actress Bridgit Mendler raises $100M to build critical space infrastructure. Founded in 2023 by Mendler, her husband, and now CTO Griffin Cleverly, and Shaurya Luthra, Northwood focuses on a part of the satellite stack that rarely grabs headlines. The company designs and mass-produces phased-array ground stations, branded internally as "Portals," that communicate with satellites in low Earth orbit. These systems are built to deploy faster and at lower cost than traditional ground infrastructure, which often becomes a choke point as satellite constellations multiply. In 2024, Northwood was still proving the idea. The company had raised $6.3 million from Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Also Capital, and other early backers. Mendler even traced the company's origins to improvised antenna experiments during the pandemic. "While everybody else was making their sourdough starters, we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot... and receiving data from [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] satellites," she said. What looked unconventional at the time now reads as an early signal. Since then, Northwood has moved quickly. A $30 million Series A in 2025 helped the company expand manufacturing capacity and deploy initial network sites across multiple continents. The latest round takes that effort into industrial territory, positioning Northwood as a supplier for both commercial constellations and national security missions that can't afford ground-side delays. Alongside the funding, Northwood disclosed a $49.8 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to support upgrades to the Satellite Control Network, a core system that manages GPS satellites and other critical assets. Mendler said the work addresses resource constraints that have limited support for high-priority missions. The timing lines up with broader shifts in orbit. Launch costs keep falling. Satellites keep multiplying. Data volumes keep rising. The pressure has landed squarely on Earth-based infrastructure, where older ground systems struggle to keep pace. For Mendler, the appeal of that challenge was always practical. "For me, why the ground-side matters is because it actually is about bringing the impacts of space home to people," she said. That focus, rather than celebrity, has defined Northwood's rise. Mendler stepped away from acting years ago, earned advanced degrees, including a JD from Harvard Law School, and built a company around a problem most people never see but depend on daily. GPS navigation, weather forecasting, disaster response, and defense communications all hinge on the quiet reliability of ground stations. With fresh capital, government backing, and manufacturing ramping up, Northwood now sits at a different point on the curve. The early question was whether the idea would work. The current question is how far it can scale. The former Disney star isn't chasing orbit for novelty. She's building the infrastructure that makes orbit useful.