Auckland's Outlier Space raises US$7.35 million for orbital factories
The startup is developing microgravity platforms to enable pharmaceutical and semiconductor manufacturing in space.
Auckland-based startup Outlier Space has secured US$7.35 million (approximately NZ$10.5 million) in pre-seed funding to develop orbital manufacturing capsules. The company aims to enable pharmaceutical and semiconductor firms to produce advanced materials in microgravity and return them safely to Earth.
The funding round was led by New Zealand fund GD1, with participation from Australian venture capital firms Airtree, Investible, and Side Stage Ventures, as well as Nova Threshold, Icehouse Ventures, and Brian Cartmell. Outlier Space operates as a "landlord" for space-based production; the company provides the orbital capsule and platform, while customers supply their own specialized manufacturing equipment. Founder and CEO Jamie France, who previously served as global director of the launch vehicle program at Rocket Lab and worked with Emirates Team New Zealand, described the model as enabling equipment to "bypass gravity" to produce materials.
Manufacturing in space allows for the creation of purer crystals and more uniform proteins that are often impossible to produce on Earth, where gravity can cause ingredients to separate or structures to collapse. While the International Space Station has hosted such experiments for decades, the industry has been hindered by a lack of affordable, repeatable access to space and reliable return mechanisms. Airtree Principal Raaj Rayat noted that the primary bottleneck for the category has not been demand, but rather the lack of cheap and repeatable access to the orbital environment.
If the platform proves viable, it could unlock the scaled production of novel materials critical for Alzheimer's research, cancer treatments, and next-generation semiconductors. By lowering the barrier to entry for in-space manufacturing, Outlier Space is positioning itself within the emerging "new space economy," shifting the focus from mere exploration to commercial industrialization in orbit.
Outlier Space is targeting a debut mission and test flight in 2028. The company has stated that this timeline remains subject to the achievement of specific engineering and regulatory milestones.