SpaceComputer, a startup planning to use satellites to perform blockchain-secure computing, has raised $10 million in a seed round, according to an announcement shared exclusively with The Defiant. The company said the funds will be used to build an orbital network that can safely handle blockchain operations from space.
The seed round was co-led by Maven11 and Lattice, with participation from Superscrypt, Arbitrum Foundation, Nascent, Offchain Labs, Hashkey, Chorus One, and others. Individual investors include Mark Weinstein, Jason Yanowitz, and Ameen Soleimani. The funding follows a pre-seed round led by Primitive Ventures earlier this year, the statement said.
The funding will be used to build and launch SpaceComputer’s first satellite and the secure computing hardware it will carry. The satellites, called SpaceTEE units, will perform secure blockchain and cryptographic tasks from space, according to a press release.
The funding will also go toward building network software, configuring how satellites work together, and providing new services such as private computing and secure record-keeping.
This investment highlights the growing interest in advancing blockchain infrastructure using new approaches such as space technology. Moving beyond traditional satellites could make blockchain operations more difficult on Earth.
“The SpaceComputer project represents optimistic yet realistic cypherpunk ambitions,” said co-founder Daniel Barr. “Space is open for business, and we are rapidly entering an era where more and more applications will include space-based computing and communications layers.”
Barr added that the “importance and opportunity” of the space for decentralized technology is “undeniable.”
Major financial institutions are also exploring the potential of satellites for secure transactions. A few years ago, JPMorgan’s digital assets division tested what it called “the world’s first bank-led transfer of tokenized value in space.” The banking giant used a blockchain network deployed on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to execute smart contract transactions.
These developments come as scientists become extremely concerned about the growing amount of space debris. In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned in a letter to Congress that debris from LEO satellites like SpaceX’s Starlink constellation could pose a danger to people on the ground during the reentry process.
Another study in 2022 claimed that Elon Musk’s satellite fleet was blocking the view of astronomers’ telescopes.
SpaceComputer is primarily known for testing satellites on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and releasing tools for developers to access computing from space.
The company is currently collaborating with researchers at the Technical University of Munich, Cornell Tech, and the University of California, Santa Barbara to research extraterrestrial computing for blockchain applications.
