Kapta Space secures $24M to scale satellite radar payloads
Seattle-based Kapta Space has raised $24 million in Series A funding to expand production of its low-cost metamaterial radar payloads for defense satellites. The company, founded by former Echodyne engineers Milton Perque and Adam Bily, uses software-defined radar to track moving targets on land, sea, and in the air. The investment includes support from a Bill Gates-backed fund and defense investors, boosting the Pacific Northwest’s commercial space sector.
Kapta Space, located in Seattle, has closed a $24 million Series A round. The funding is intended to help the company increase manufacturing of affordable radar payloads built with metamaterials for satellites used in defense. Its founders, Milton Perque and Adam Bily, previously worked at Echodyne.
The company's radar systems rely on software-defined technology to detect and follow moving objects across land, sea, and air. Backing comes from a fund associated with Bill Gates and from defense-focused investors, a development that may strengthen the commercial space industry in the Pacific Northwest.
The funding could affect defense satellite capabilities, potentially improving monitoring of moving objects on land, sea, and air. That may influence military and security decision-making, as well as communities reliant on satellite-based surveillance. It could also support jobs and investment in Seattle and the wider Pacific Northwest space sector. However, expanded radar tracking may raise questions about privacy and oversight, depending on how the technology is deployed.