Startup · United States
Lodestar Space
HQ Los AngelesFounded 202311-50 employees
Lodestar is building the first autonomous AI fighter-pilot for space, to power in-orbit bodyguard satellites and deliver orbital defence as a service to high-value assets.
Funding1 round · ~$2.5M
- Equity raised
- ~$2.5M
- Latest
- ~$2.5MPre-Seed · Jul 25, 2024
| Announced | Stage | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Other investors | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2024 | Pre-Seed | ~$2.5M | — | Inflection, Lunar Ventures | — | Reported |
- Pre-SeedLed by Inflection, Lunar Ventures~$2.5MJul 25, 2024
Raised counts equity rounds; debt, secondary sales and grants are totaled separately. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the announcement month's average rate. A ~ marks an estimated or converted amount.
Capabilities2
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military AI and autonomy | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Offers 'orbital defence as a service' with autonomous AI and in-orbit 'bodyguard satellites', a stated defense use, though named customers are only 'high-value assets'. | Reported |
| Space, launch and counterspace | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Offers 'orbital defence as a service' with autonomous AI and in-orbit 'bodyguard satellites', a stated defense use, though named customers are only 'high-value assets'. | Reported |
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Offers 'orbital defence as a service' with autonomous AI and in-orbit 'bodyguard satellites', a stated defense use, though named customers are only 'high-value assets'.—Reported
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Offers 'orbital defence as a service' with autonomous AI and in-orbit 'bodyguard satellites', a stated defense use, though named customers are only 'high-value assets'.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
People2
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Neil Buchanan | Co-founder |
| Thomas Santini | Co-founder |
Hiring Observations9 observed listings
A sample of observed listings, not a total vacancy count. Availability may have changed since collection. Categories are inferred from job titles.
Sources8
Profile4
- 1CompanyLodestar Space
Lodestar Space · Supports Organization · description, Organization · name, Organization · website
“Lodestar is building the first autonomous AI fighter-pilot for space, to power in-orbit bodyguard satellites and deliver orbital defence as a service to high-value assets.”
- 2
Sixth-Domain · Supports Organization · country, Organization · kind
“{"country": "USA", "hq_iso2": "US", "id": "fe5c8ae9-f11a-4e2b-a586-690dc8d072a2"}”
- 3
Crunchbase · Supports Organization · employee range, Organization · hq city, Organization · linkedin url, Organization · x url
“employee_range: 11-50 (profile: 11-50)”
- 4
LinkedIn · Supports Organization · employee range, Organization · founded year, Organization · hq city, Organization · linkedin url
“employee_range: 11-50 (profile: 11-50 employees)”
Funding2
- 5
Space Insider · Jul 25, 2024 · Supports Funding round · amount
“Lodestar Space has closed a $2.5 million pre-seed funding round co-led by Inflection.xyz and Lunar Ventures with participation from Charlie Songhurst, Zehan Wang, and Mehdi Ghissassi, alongside non-dilutive funding from the UK Space Agency.”
- 6
TechCrunch · Jul 25, 2024 · Supports Funding round · amount, Organization · ownership
“The company has raised $2.5 million for its efforts, through a combination of non-dilutive funding from the U.K. Space Agency and a pre-seed round co-led by Inflection and Lunar Ventures, plus several angel investors.”
People1
- 7
joinef.com · Supports Role
“Lodestar Space, cofounded by Neil Buchanan and Thomas Santini in 2023, has launched Mission ALECTO.”
Other1
- 8
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.