Solestial, Inc., a solar energy company for space, has announced a significant milestone with the closing of its $17M Series A funding round led by AE Ventures.
The Series A funding enables Solestial to continue scaling its manufacturing capacity of silicon photovoltaics to 1 megawatt per year, a rate comparable to the estimated annual manufacturing capacity of all US and EU III-V space solar companies combined.
Alongside the raise, Solestial also announced the appointment of Margo de Naray as Chief Executive Officer. De Naray, formerly Senior VP & GM of Space Products and Services at Astra, brings 20 years of extensive commercial and operations management experience in growth and high-tech environments. Founding CEO, Stanislau Herasimenka, will assume the role of Chief Technology Officer to focus on advancing the company's product roadmap and rapidly scaling operations technology.
Beckett Jackson, Partner at AE Ventures said, "Space solar is a critical bottleneck in a rapidly growing industry with an ever-expanding set of missions—from national security to lunar exploration. Solestial is uniquely positioned to serve spacecraft manufacturers with mass production of a lightweight, radiation-hardened solution at lower cost and a fraction of the lead time of the current standard."
The only space solar manufacturer with demonstrated ability to self-heal radiation damage, Solestial offers spacecraft manufacturers the ability to significantly reduce cost and weight without sacrificing energy needs or performance.
With strong customer demand, Solestial has prioritized scaling production. Since opening its Tempe, Arizona manufacturing facility in 2023, the company has added square footage each year, more than doubled its workforce, and delivered commercial products to dozens of companies.
