Mechanical Engineer Intern - Fall 2026

Apex Technology has filed a notice with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $156.8 million in new funding. The filing was made under an exempt offering of securities without registration under the Securities Act of 1933. Founded in 2022 by CEO Ian Cinnamon and CTO Max Benassi, Apex addresses satellite production bottlenecks by mass-manufacturing spacecraft. The company aims to help the US and its allies maintain strategic advantage in the space race through scaled satellite production. Apex offers three product lines — Aries, Nova, and Comet — serving missions from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit. The company focuses on short lead times, constellation-scale production, and highly reliable spacecraft.

Toyota Racing Development partners with Apex for satellites. TrendPulse AI Analysis This article covers business trends, sourced from Fortune. Its AI system has analyzed the key points and extracted the most relevant insights for decision-makers. Below is the structured breakdown of the original content. Quick summary. * Toyota Racing Development (TRD) is applying high-volume automotive manufacturing precision to the production of satellite components for the aerospace startup Apex. * This partnership aims to bridge the gap between bespoke, low-volume aerospace manufacturing and the high-scale, rigorous quality standards required for modern satellite constellations. * With an estimated 100,000 satellites projected for launch over the next five years, the collaboration highlights a strategic shift toward industrializing space hardware production. Key details. Apex, a Los Angeles-based startup valued at $2.3 billion, is leveraging the expertise of Toyota Ventures to revolutionize how satellites are built. By partnering with TRD, the team behind Toyota and Lexus race cars, Apex is adopting automotive supply chain and quality control methodologies to produce structural components like bulkheads and base decks. These parts require extreme precision, mirroring the "ridiculous tolerances" demanded by high-performance racing. "Race cars are the prime example, in everything from how you manage your supply chain, to how you think about the quality bar. When you're dealing with a race car going 100-plus miles per hour, carrying a human, that thing cannot fail. And you need to be building them at some scale." This collaboration addresses a fundamental bottleneck in the aerospace sector: the reliance on slow, artisanal manufacturing processes. Apex cofounder Ian Cinnamon argues that the future of space infrastructure depends on standardized, high-quality production that mimics the automotive industry's ability to scale. TRD serves as the ideal partner, operating in the "middle ground" between mass-market vehicle production and the ultra-precise, low-volume requirements of traditional aerospace engineering. Why this matters. This partnership signals a broader trend of cross-industry pollination, where automotive manufacturing prowess is becoming a critical asset for the burgeoning space economy. As the demand for satellite constellations grows, the ability to produce reliable hardware at scale will determine which companies dominate the orbital landscape. Investors should view this as a validation of "industrialized space," where the winners will be those who can reduce costs through manufacturing efficiency rather than relying on traditional, high-cost aerospace methods. For industry professionals, this shift suggests that the next wave of aerospace innovation will not come from traditional rocket science alone, but from the integration of automotive-grade supply chain management. Companies that successfully adapt these high-volume, high-precision techniques will likely capture significant market share as the orbital environment becomes increasingly crowded and commercially vital. The bottom line. By importing automotive manufacturing scale into the aerospace sector, Toyota and Apex are setting a new standard for the rapid, reliable production of critical satellite infrastructure. Original source: Fortune This article has been processed and analyzed by TrendPulse AI for informational purposes. Content may have been summarized or restructured for clarity.

Space startup Apex doubles valuation to $2.3 billion in new funding. 05 Jun 2026 10:17PM (Updated: 06 Jun 2026 01:57PM) Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. June 5: Space startup Apex has more than doubled its valuation to $2.3 billion in under a year after raising over $200 million in a new funding round, the firm said on Friday, underscoring growing investor interest in the sector. The fundraise comes amid heightened investor enthusiasm in space exploration and defense, driven by expanding commercial satellite networks, government-led defense opportunities and buzz around a SpaceX IPO. Here are some more details: - The funding round was led by Glade Brook Capital Partners and co-led by Washington Harbour Partners with participation from existing investors. - New capital will accelerate Apex's expansion of its satellite manufacturing campus and fund "ahead-of-need manufacturing" of its satellite platforms, the company said. - Founded in 2022, Apex builds satellite buses designed to host commercial and government payloads such as Earth-imaging capabilities and sensors for missile tracking and defense. - Earlier this week, Northrop Grumman said it will collaborate with Apex to support the development of U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile defense project. - Apex also named Michael Kopet as its chief financial officer. - The company was valued at $1 billion in September last year after raising $200 million in a funding round.