Seattle-based space technology startup Kapta Space has raised $24m in Series A funding and secured multiple classified contracts for moving target indication (MTI), a capability used to detect and track moving objects from space. The funding was led by Washington Harbour Partners and co-led by Bison Ventures. MetaVC, MYDA Capital, Entrada Ventures, Aurelia Foundry, and Fitz Gate Ventures joined the round.
Kapta has raised $30 million thus far.
The Kapta system builds a space-based target sensing system that steers towards and maintains contact with targets. It can “search, track, revisit, and maintain awareness of dynamic targets at mission scale,” wrote the company.
“The mission calls for persistent awareness, and that requires us to rethink how radar has to work at constellation scale,” said Milton Perque, CEO. “Traditional architectures are cost-prohibitive and were never designed for the scale these missions now demand. This investment allows us to advance our technology, expand manufacturing, and work with strategic partners to bring that capability through flight qualification and into contracted orbital missions, opening the door to a new class of persistent tracking and advanced ISR missions from orbit.”
The announcement combines new private investment with government contract awards, as the US military looks to expand space-based surveillance and tracking capabilities. MTI is particularly relevant to monitoring moving targets across large areas, where persistent coverage can help military operators maintain situational awareness.
“Kapta is rethinking a critical system from first principles,” said Ben Hemani, Founding Partner at Bison Ventures. “By making space-based radar more scalable, cost-effective, and manufacturable, the team is enabling persistent sensing at a scale traditional architectures simply weren’t built to support. That kind of enabling technology, with the potential for massive real-world impact, is exactly what we look for at Bison.”
The company has not disclosed the values or customers associated with its classified contracts. The awards nevertheless indicate demand for its approach to space-based MTI, an area of growing interest as defence organisations seek alternatives to surveillance systems dependent on aircraft.
