Solestial, a Tempe, AZ-based solar energy company for space, raised $17M in Series A Funding.
The round was led by AE Ventures. New investors included Crosscut Ventures, Zeon Ventures, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s ME Innovation Fund, with participation from existing investors Airbus Ventures, General Purpose Venture Capital, Industrious Ventures, Stellar Ventures, and Techstars.
The company intends to sue the funds to expand its manufacturing capacity of silicon photovoltaics to 1 megawatt per year, a rate comparable to the estimated annual manufacturing capacity of all US and EU III-V space solar companies combined.
Solestial exists to deliver abundant energy in space. Its technology provides silicon solar cells engineered for space to self-cure radiation damage under sunlight at operating temperatures as low as 65°C, which are packaged in an ultrathin, low-mass, flexible solar power module designed to withstand up to 10 years in a variety of destinations in space. The modules can be produced on automated machines resulting in costs lower than traditional III-V multijunction solar products.
Alongside the raise, Solestial also announced the appointment of Margo de Naray as Chief Executive Officer. Founding CEO, Stanislau Herasimenka, will assume the role of Chief Technology Officer to focus on advancing the company’s product roadmap and rapidly scaling operations technology.
FinSMEs
15/05/2025