About Capella Space
Capella Space is an Aerospace, Defense & Maritime company based in Palo Alto (United States) founded in 2016, and was acquired by IonQ in May 2025. Satellite-based imaging solutions are provided using synthetic aperture radar. It operates in the Aerospace, Defense & Maritime, Financial Services, and Technology sectors. Capella Space has raised $233.99 million across 9 funding rounds from investors including IonQ, NightDragon and Canaan. The company has 191 employees. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Frank Backes. Its website capellaspace.com draws about 48 thousand monthly visits. Capella Space offers products and services including SAR Imagery and Tasking API. Its focus areas include Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech, NewSpace, Space Services and Imaging. Its legal entity is CAPELLA SPACE CORP. Its competitors include Planet, Spire and Descartes Labs; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Capella Space was founded in 2016 in Palo Alto, United States, within the aerospace and satellite imaging sector. A platform is operated that employs synthetic aperture radar for capturing images through clouds and in low light, unaffected by weather or illumination. Services are applied to maritime domain awareness, city planning, mapping, patterns of life analysis, and business intelligence.
- Headquarters Palo Alto, United States
- Employees 191
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsAerospace, Defense & MaritimeFinancial Services Technology
- Email••••••••
- Website capellaspace.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by IonQ (May 2025)
- Legal Name Capella Space Corp
Products & Services of Capella Space
Capella Space offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including SAR Imagery and Tasking API.
Delivers high-resolution images for all-weather monitoring and analysis
Automated tool for seamless satellite imagery tasking and retrieval
Funding Insights of Capella Space
Capella Space has successfully raised a total of $233.99M across 9 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $60 million completed in January 2023. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $233.99M
- Total Rounds 9
- Last Round Series C — $60M
- Investors Count 9
All 9 funding rounds of Capella Space with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2023 | $60M | Series C | – | US Innovative Technology Fund | – |
| Apr 2022 | $97M | Series C | – | NightDragon | |
| Apr 2022 | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – | |
| Dec 2019 | $29.4M | Series B | – | – | – |
| Apr 2019 | $13.72M | Series B | – | – | – |
| Sep 2018 | $19M | Series B | – | DCVC, Spark Capital | |
| May 2017 | $14.87M | Series A | – | Spark Capital | – |
| Nov 2016 | Seed | – | DCVC, Canaan | – | |
| Sep 2016 | Seed | – | Pear VC | – |
10 investors in total: 10 institutional.
Investors in Capella Space
Capella Space has secured backing from 10 investors, including venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include IonQ, NightDragon and Canaan.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital fund investment in AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity startups | usinnovativetechnologyfund.tcc.mode | |||
Provider of cyber security advisory services | 2005 | nightdragon.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Venture capital firm focused on multiple sectors | dcvc.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Stage-agnostic venture capital investments are focused on US sectors. | cotacapital.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Venture capital funding is provided to companies in Argentina. | markvc.com | Bellaire, United States | ||
Venture capital is provided to expansion-stage software and tech firms. | harmonyvp.com | New York, United States | ||
Spark Capital is engaged in venture capital investments. | sparkcapital.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Canaan is recognized as an early-stage venture capital firm. | 1987 | canaan.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Seed & early stage VC firm investing the US | 2013 | pear.vc | San Francisco, United States | |
Universal quantum computers using trapped-ion technology are provided via cloud. | 2015 | ionq.com | College Park, United States |
Investor details for Capella Space
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Capella Space
95 people are tracked at Capella Space (19 in leadership, 9 in board & advisors, 67 in team); the tracked headcount is 191.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Frank Backes | CEO | Leadership |
Corey Snyder | Senior Director Of Missions | Leadership |
Chris Gehant | Vice President Of Constellation Operations | Leadership |
Katina Mattingly | Director Of Systems And Programs - Space Systems | Leadership |
Craig Stringham | Director Of Radar Processing | Leadership |
Thomas Beyer | Director Of Software - Platform Applications | Leadership |
Danielle Everett | Associate Director Business Development - Mission Solutions | Leadership |
Mike Lappano | Director, RF & Comms Systems Engineering | Leadership |
Evan Englert | Director Of Production Planning & Control | Leadership |
Gordon Farquharson | VP Of Sensor Systems | Leadership |
Jeff Hurley | Director Of Business Development | Leadership |
Nathan Kennedy | Senior Vice President Operations | Leadership |
Peter Tong | Director Of Mechanical Engineering | Leadership |
Robért Glein | Director Of Electrical Engineering FPGA | Leadership |
Paul Stephen | Chief Information & Security Officer | Leadership |
Christina Gibson | Director, Flight Software | Leadership |
Brandon Smith | VP Space Systems | Leadership |
Lucy Newton | Director, Fp&a | Leadership |
Rachel Cheetham | Vice President Business Operations | Leadership |
Peter Tague | Director | Board & advisors |
75 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Capella Space
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Capella Space
4 dated milestones of Capella Space across 9 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Capella Space is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $60.0M.
- Exit Acquired by IonQ.
Competitors of Capella Space
Capella Space has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Planet, Spire and Descartes Labs.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| planet.com | 2010 | San Francisco, United States | $601.59M | 1,180 | Cloud-based satellite imagery data and analytics solutions are provided. | |
| spire.com | 2012 | San Francisco, United States | $272.59M | 447 | Cloud, AI, and satellite-based data analytics solutions are developed. | |
| descarteslabs.com | 2014 | Santa Fe, United States | $58.37M | 72 | Earth satellite imagery solutions are provided for monitoring applications. |
Detailed competitors of Capella Space
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Capella Space
The website of Capella Space (capellaspace.com) receives about 48.4K visits a month.
- Monthly visits48.4K
▲ 13.4% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Capella Space. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| capella.edu | 100% | 2.5M | #20,562 | View details | |
| joinhandshake.com | 92% | 16M | #2,980 | View details | |
| geospatialworld.net | 90% | 135.8K | #325,195 | View details | |
| iceye.com | 84% | 142.8K | #305,297 | View details | |
| thequantuminsider.com | 84% | 376.5K | #165,183 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 6 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Capella Space
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 6 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Space Research & Technology
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Capella Space (Space Research & Technology) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cloud-based satellite imagery data and analytics solutions are provided. | 2010 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 601.59 M | USD 307.73 M | 1,749 | |
Astra is engaged in providing space launch services. | 2016 | Alameda, California, United States | USD 136.93 M | |||
Reusable launch vehicles for large payloads are developed and launched. | 2002 | Hawthorne, California, United States | USD 11.86 B | USD 18.67 B | 20,833 |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Capella Space
Complete news archive for Capella Space
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Capella Space
Capella Space was founded in 2016.
Capella Space is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States. It is registered at Palo Alto, California, United States.
Frank Backes is the CEO of Capella Space, as recorded in our data.
Capella Space is a funded company, having raised a total of $233.99M across 9 funding rounds to date.
Capella Space has 191 employees.
Capella Space was founded in 2016 in Palo Alto, United States, within the aerospace and satellite imaging sector. A platform is operated that employs synthetic aperture radar for capturing images through clouds and in low light, unaffected by weather or illumination. Services are applied to maritime domain awareness, city planning, mapping, patterns of life analysis, and business intelligence.
Capella Space's top competitors include Planet, Spire and Descartes Labs.
Capella Space offers SAR Imagery and Tasking API.
Capella Space has 10 investors. Key investors include IonQ, NightDragon, Canaan, Pear VC, and US Innovative Technology Fund.
Capella Space operates through Capella Space Corp.
Yes. Capella Space was acquired by IonQ in May 2025.