Spaced Ventures Inc., a crowdfunding platform that allows everyday people to invest in space startups, today announced that it has raised a $1.2 million seed round of financing led by WorldQuant Ventures with participation from well-respected angel investors in the space industry, including Alex Fisher.
Co-founded in 2020 by digital community builder Aaron Burnett and Wall Street veteran, J. Brant Arseneau, Spaced Ventures was built to address the funding gap for early-stage space companies and to give space enthusiasts the ability to invest as little as $100 and own shares in emerging space startups across a variety of verticals.
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"Until now, investing in private space companies has been limited to high-net-worth investors," said Aaron Burnett, co-founder and CEO of Spaced Ventures. "The excitement for the space industry has never been greater and this unprecedented access to space investing will spur innovation and will be the key to putting humanity into space permanently."
Since launching in 2020, and becoming an official FINRA Funding Portal Member, Spaced Ventures has gained incredible traction and has mobilized one of the largest communities of space investors on the planet. The company has already received over 100 applications from space startups looking to raise capital and 1700 potential investors have registered on the site. Since opening the platform to the public in September 2021, three space companies have already received over $600,000 in commitments from Spaced Ventures' investors with an average individual investment of over $2,300. Additionally, Mr. Arseneau has been named as an Ambassador for the Canadian Space Agency to educate and inspire a passion for space with the next generation of youth, which will further help to grow the space community.
Spaced Ventures will use this funding to double its team and to launch new financial products for its investor base and its portfolio of space companies.
According to BryceTech's Start-Up Space Report 2021, a record amount of capital is being poured into the space industry, but most space investment has gone to later-stage, post-revenue companies. In 2020, 80% of all space investments went to just nine companies, while the vast majority of early-stage space startups continued to have little or no options for seed funding.
"Spaced Ventures is a pioneering force ushering in a new era for the space industry," said Steve Lau, managing partner of WorldQuant Ventures. "Efficient financial technology has never been more compelling, and Spaced Ventures' flexible and alternative funding options for early stage space companies are fulfilling a critical need at a pivotal time."
Unlike rewards-based crowdfunding that gives individual investors a non-financial reward such as a product in exchange for a monetary contribution, equity crowdfunding offers investors who are willing to accept the risk of loss, actual ownership in the form of company shares in return for their investment.
"As we continue toward our goal of building the planet's largest community of space investors we invite all space fans, no matter your economic status, to join us to help fund our collective future," added Mr. Burnett.
