Investor Profile: SpaceFund — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Few venture firms do only one thing, but SpaceFund does: it is an early-stage venture capital fund dedicated entirely to the space economy. Founded in 2018, the firm backs visionary, practical startups building the infrastructure, intelligence and commercial capability of the space industry, and it has assembled a portfolio of 21+ companies with $20M+ invested. For founders seeking startup funding from investors who understand both orbital mechanics and unit economics, this is the specialist table.

Thesis

SpaceFund's thesis is that the opening of the high frontier is the defining high-growth industry of this century, and that disciplined, research-driven investing can find its winners early. The firm deliberately avoids traditional aerospace, satellite swarms and drones, and instead targets multi-billion-dollar markets: space transportation, critical components and the supply chains every space operation depends on. It works actively with companies from inception toward durable scale and successful exits, pairing capital with ongoing market intelligence.

Sectors and stages

The firm invests at the earliest stages across the space startup ecosystem, with an emphasis on infrastructure, intelligence and commercial capability. Every investment is expected to address a multi-billion-dollar market, and the team performs continuous research on market size, new-market creation, financing and exits to guide its bets.

Fund size and cheque size

SpaceFund does not publicly disclose its total fund size or standard cheque sizes. What it does publish is scale of activity: more than 21 portfolio companies and over $20 million invested.

Notable portfolio

The firm's site names Made In Space (exited), Axiom Space (IPO), Cognitive Space (active) and Sen (active) among its holdings. Its published research has argued that the space industry was weakly correlated to every major market index tested and was the only tested sector without a single year of negative growth between 2005 and 2022, a framing that underpins its pitch to institutional capital.

Partners

Founder and CEO Rick Tumlinson is widely described as the godfather of the commercial space movement: he co-founded the XPRIZE and has testified before the U.S. Congress six times. Co-founder and managing partner Meagan Crawford leads investing alongside founding general partners John Bohlmann, a five-time founder who is also Founder and CEO of HawkenAI, and Luke Moloney, a longtime operator and strategic adviser. Jaime Velasco serves as CFO after a career that included a divisional CFO role at Bank Santander.

Programs, credits and perks

SpaceFund runs SpaceFund Labs, an idea-stage incubator announced in August 2021 that turns raw concepts into funded businesses with team formation, financial planning, corporate setup and legal consultation. It also publishes the SpaceFund Reality (SFR) rating databases, which assess players across space sub-sectors, plus founder-focused research such as Tyranny of the VC Equation.

How to apply for funding

SpaceFund's site invites both investors and startups to introduce themselves through its contact form: choose your role, share the context, and the team routes the message internally. Founders with only an idea can instead submit directly to SpaceFundLabs.com, the firm's incubator arm.