Redmond, WA, Manufacturing Over Half of World's Satellites, Welcomes Starcloud's $10 Million Boost

Redmond, Washington, continues to reinforce its position as a global leader in satellite manufacturing and space innovation, a status recently highlighted by Philip Johnston, co-founder and CEO of Starcloud. Johnston, in a tweet, celebrated Redmond's significant role, stating, > "Not many people know this, but Redmond, WA is the satellite capital of the world! 🚀👌" His remarks came alongside an acknowledgement of a shout-out from 425 Business, underscoring the city's burgeoning space industry ecosystem.

The city's preeminence in the space sector is formally recognized through the "Redmond Space District" initiative, launched in March 2023. Redmond-based companies, including industry giants like SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper, are responsible for producing over half of the satellites currently in Earth's orbit. Projections indicate this figure could rise to more than 75% of the world's satellites in the near future, according to OneRedmond.

Starcloud, formerly known as Lumen Orbit, is a key player contributing to Redmond's innovative space landscape. The startup is pioneering the development of space-based data centers, aiming to leverage continuous solar power and passive radiative cooling to address the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence. Philip Johnston, the company's CEO, expressed confidence in this vision, stating, "I’m 100% convinced that all data centers are going to space."

The company recently secured an additional $10 million in seed funding, bringing its total seed raise to $21 million. This investment supports Starcloud's ambitious plans, including the launch of its first test satellite containing computational equipment aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this summer. Starcloud relocated to Redmond in February 2024 from Southern California, drawn by the region's concentration of satellite and data center talent.

Redmond's robust commercial space sector also includes established entities such as Aerojet Rocketdyne, Honeywell Aerospace, Kymeta, Microsoft’s Azure Orbital, and RBC Signals. This concentration of expertise and manufacturing capabilities solidifies the city's reputation as a vital hub for space technology and innovation, attracting further investment and talent to the region.