Solestial, Inc., a pioneering space tech company specializing in solar energy solutions for satellites, has successfully raised $17,000,000 in Series A funding. The round was led by a syndicate of high-profile investors including AE Ventures, Crosscut Ventures, Zeon Ventures, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s ME Innovation Fund, Airbus Ventures, General Purpose Venture Capital, Industrious Ventures, Stellar Ventures, and Techstars.

This capital injection marks a significant milestone for Solestial as it accelerates the development and commercialization of its next-generation solar array technology - designed specifically for the growing demands of the space economy.

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Reinventing Solar Power for a New Space Age

Traditional solar arrays used in space are high-performance but costly, fragile, and not scalable. Solestial is solving this problem with its breakthrough low-cost, radiation-tolerant solar panels optimized for Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

By leveraging silicon-based materials and proprietary coatings, Solestial delivers robust performance in harsh space environments while keeping costs low. This is a game-changer as the number of satellites in orbit is set to skyrocket.

“Our mission is to enable affordable and sustainable power for the new space economy,” said Margo de Naray, Co-founder of Solestial. “This funding round allows us to scale production and fulfill the growing demand for cost-effective solar solutions in orbit.”

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A Market Ready for Disruption

Solestial enters a booming market. According to Morgan Stanley, the global space economy is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2040, fueled by satellite communications, Earth observation, and space infrastructure.

Power generation remains one of the biggest bottlenecks in orbital operations. According to Euroconsult, more than 24,500 satellites will be launched between 2023 and 2033 - more than double the last decade.

The satellite solar panel market alone is forecasted to grow from $2.5 billion in 2024 to over $5.2 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 12.4% (Allied Market Research).

Solestial’s unique value proposition - affordable, scalable, radiation-resistant solar panels - places it at the heart of this transformation.

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What Makes Solestial’s Technology Different?

Solestial merges terrestrial solar economics with space-grade durability. Unlike traditional panels built from expensive materials like gallium arsenide, Solestial uses engineered silicon wafers - making production cheaper, scalable, and mass manufacturable.

Key differentiators include:

• Radiation-tolerant coating that extends operational lifespan in orbit
  
• Ultra-lightweight design for smallsats, CubeSats, and modular platforms
  
• Thermal resilience across eclipse and sunlight cycles
  
• Mass production compatibility using existing semiconductor infrastructure
  

Solestial’s platform supports both commercial mega-constellations and government missions, creating broad applicability.

In fact, what sets Solestial apart is its ability to provide space-qualified solar technology at near-terrestrial cost levels. This is critical as operators look to deploy hundreds or thousands of small satellites, often with limited budgets.

Here’s something most early-stage space founders overlook: orbital energy architecture is more than a power problem - it's a network constraint problem. Each satellite that goes dark even momentarily causes interruptions across swarms, relays, or observation cycles. This means energy reliability doesn't just affect the unit - it cascades into mission-wide operational integrity. Solestial's approach solves for this by designing not just for performance, but for thermal continuity, system-level uptime, and orbital harmonics. Founders building in-orbit services must think at this systems level early - or risk designing into fragility. Solestial's foresight here is a playbook for how deeptech companies can build products for ecosystems, not just endpoints.

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Backing from Industry-Leading Investors

The strength of this round comes not just from the amount raised, but from who backed it. Investors include:

• Airbus Ventures – backing breakthrough aerospace technologies
  
• Mitsubishi Electric ME Innovation Fund – a major industrial partner
  
• Techstars – signals strong startup ecosystem momentum
  
• Stellar Ventures – focused on space infrastructure leadership
  

“Our backers understand both the complexity and the urgency of building sustainable energy systems for space,” said Stan Herasimenka, Co-founder and CEO. “This round enables us to deepen our R&D, scale our pilot manufacturing, and begin deployments with early customers.”

The caliber and diversity of investors also indicate strong confidence in Solestial’s dual-use potential, with applications across both civilian and defense sectors. This strategic alignment will be crucial as demand for autonomous, resilient orbital platforms continues to grow.

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Why This Funding Round Matters

Raising $17 million in today’s environment is a testament to Solestial’s market-fit, vision, and execution. This Series A will help the company:

• Expand its Arizona-based production facility
  
• Accelerate testing with aerospace and defense partners
  
• Hire top talent in engineering, manufacturing, and regulatory roles
  
• Secure supply chain agreements to enable rapid scaling
  

It also positions the company as a potential supplier for:

• Large-scale LEO satellite constellations
  
• Lunar surface operations
  
• Next-gen space stations and orbital platforms
  

Solestial is not only solving an engineering challenge, but also a supply chain and economic bottleneck. With its adaptable and lightweight architecture, it can support a range of spacecraft without requiring redesign.

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The Road Ahead: Making Space Energy Affordable

Solestial’s roadmap includes:

• Commercial pilots with aerospace and Earth observation clients by late 2025
  
• Full-scale production readiness by 2026
  
• Deeper engagement with governmental space agencies and private orbital stations (e.g., Orbital Reef, Starlab)
  

As sustainability becomes a focus even in orbit, Solestial’s low-cost, efficient solar energy promises to power the next generation of space missions - from constellations to climate monitoring satellites.

The company also plans to explore hybrid systems combining energy storage and solar generation, which could prove vital for long-duration science missions and autonomous operations in shadowed orbital environments.

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Final Thoughts: Why Solestial is a Startup to Watch

Solestial stands out by addressing a critical infrastructure gap with:

• Proven scalability
  
• Strong institutional backing
  
• Deep-tech IP with commercial readiness
  
• A clear vision to power the trillion-dollar space economy
  

This is more than a solar panel startup - it’s an enabler of long-duration, resilient orbital infrastructure.

With $17M secured and a product ready to scale, Solestial is one of the most exciting companies in the emerging space energy ecosystem.