- Varda Space Industries' Funding Milestone, $90 million Series B round accelerates transition to routine space service.
- Aim to commercialize microgravity research on pharmaceutical crystals.
- $145 million raised in a recent funding round led by Caffeinated Capital.
The Varda Space Industries company has been able to attract huge investments shortly after the successful delivery of its first drug supplies to space.
The company's Series B round with $90 million participated by investors is a change of pace as it enters the next stage, moving from a demonstration mission to a routine service of carrying customer payloads. To Delian Asparouhov, Varda's founder, this endorsement will allow them to expand their operations. Varda Space Corporation was founded as a result of the collaboration of Asparouhov and Will Bruey, a former SpaceX engineer.
Their goal is to commercialize the study of the microgravity impact on pharmaceutical crystals which was limited to small-scale research before. Varda plans to reduce the cost of missions by reusing Winnebago capsules, which would be similar to the Dragon capsule developed by SpaceX, but the capsules wouldn't be available until around 2027. The company's design for the future consists of processing many drug products that can be using different processing methods. This could be in the form of bigger reactors for the synthesis of chemicals that need more than just a "seeder" crystal and closely mimic mass manufacturing. The next manufacturing mission is slated to launch this year itself, with due intention of landing the vehicle in Australia. In the recent fundraising round led by Caffeinated Capital with Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and Khosla Ventures participating, the company managed to raise $145 million in total during this round.
Edited by Shruti Thapa
