← All storiesTechnologyDeveloping story

K2 Space raises $500m to build giant, high-power satellites

This article was published on July 31, 2026 While most of the satellite industry races to build smaller, K2 Space is going the other way on purpose. It has raised $500m at a $6.8bn valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ, to build the biggest, highest-power satellites in orbit. The bet is that power decides capability, and it is aiming at defence work now and AI data centres in space by 2028. Most satellite startups are racing to build smaller. K2 Space is going the other way, on purpose. Investors just handed it $500 million to keep going bigger. K2 raised a $500 million Series D at a $6.8 billion valuation, it said on Thursday. Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ led the round, with Alphabet’s CapitalG, Lightspeed and ARK Invest among the backers. That more than doubles the $3 billion valuation it carried months ago. K2 has now raised over $1 billion, against more than $1 billion in signed contracts. The bet is contrarian. Most of the industry shrinks satellites to cut launch costs. K2 argues the opposite: in orbit, power decides what a satellite can do, so it builds big, high-power ones instead. Its first “mega-class” satellite, Gravitas, reached orbit in March on a SpaceX Falcon 9.

1
updates in timeline
1
distinct sources
1 day
story span
Jul 31, 2026
latest update

Jul 31, 2026 → Jul 31, 2026

LATEST DEVELOPMENT
Jul 31, 2026·The Next WebT2 · Outlet report
K2 Space raises $500m to build giant, high-power satellites

This article was published on July 31, 2026 While most of the satellite industry races to build smaller, K2 Space is going the other way on purpose. It has raised $500m at a $6.8bn valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ, to build the…

Read original at The Next Web →
ACTIVITY · UPDATES PER MONTH
Jul 26

1 updates from 1 source.

Showing 1 of 1 updates

Timeline (1 updates)

July 2026

1 update
Jul 31, 2026·The Next WebT2 · Outlet reportLATEST
K2 Space raises $500m to build giant, high-power satellites

This article was published on July 31, 2026 While most of the satellite industry races to build smaller, K2 Space is going the other way on purpose. It has raised $500m at a $6.8bn valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and…

Read original at The Next Web →

Sources & evidence (1)

What this story stands on. Tier 0 is a primary record or the subject's own words; higher tiers must be attributed, never stated as bare fact.

T2 · Outlet report× 1
COVERAGE BY SOURCE
The Next Web 1
STRONGEST EVIDENCE
T2 · Outlet reportThe Next WebJul 31, 2026

This article was published on July 31, 2026 While most of the satellite industry races to build smaller, K2 Space is going the other way on purpose. It has raised $500m at a $6.8bn valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins and ICONIQ, to build the…

View source →

Tier key: T0 = Primary source · T1 = Wire · T2 = Outlet report · T3 = Commentary

Related stories

TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

Google, Constellation Energy Strike Deal for Nuclear Power

Google parent Alphabet agreed to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy Corp. in a 20-year power-purchase agreement that will drive more than $4. 3 billion in investments to…

1 update1 source
Oct 6, 2026
Latest: Google, Constellation Energy Strike Deal for Nuclear Power · Bloomberg
TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

Google just paid £260m to keep a UK trial off the calendar

This article was published on August 31, 2026 Google has agreed to pay £260m to settle a class action brought for UK app developers over Play Store commissions, weeks before it…

1 update1 source
Aug 31, 2026
Latest: Google just paid £260m to keep a UK trial off the calendar · The Next Web
ScienceT2 · Outlet report

NASA’s newest space telescope launches to spot ‘the weird, the rare and the unusual’ | CNN

A massive observatory that scientists have called a “discovery machine” has launched toward the cosmos, beginning a journey that could mark a significant shift in our…

4 updates3 sources
Aug 30, 2026
Latest: 'A giant leap forward': Nasa launches powerful new space telescope · BBC
TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

Waymo Is Bringing Chinese EVs to American Streets

If you’re in the United States and want to ride in a Chinese EV, one of the easiest ways may be to call a Waymo. The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company announced Wednesday that rides…

2 updates1 source10 days long
Aug 20, 2026 → Aug 30, 2026
Latest: Waymo, Zoox Vehicles Still Causing Injuries to Test Drivers: Report · Gizmodo
TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

SpaceX's Plan to Build the World's Biggest Spaceport Could Be an Environmental Disaster

Months of speculation about SpaceX’s interest in a large plot of Louisiana marshland have finally come to an end. On Tuesday, the company unveiled its plan to build an enormous…

2 updates2 sources3 days long
Aug 26, 2026 → Aug 29, 2026
Latest: GOV JEFF LANDRY: SpaceX bets on Louisiana as America’s next frontier takes off in the South · Fox News
TechnologyT2 · Outlet report

Tim Draper, the SpaceX and Tesla investor, is selling his $7.9M private island in Tanzania

This article was published on August 28, 2026 The Draper Associates founder announced the sale himself on X with no broker and no listing, in the month the ECB reported that EU…

1 update1 source
Aug 28, 2026
Latest: Tim Draper, the SpaceX and Tesla investor, is selling his $7.9M private island in Tanzania · The Next Web