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Spaceship has raised $230K across 1 funding round.
Key people at Spaceship.
Spaceship has raised $230K in total across 1 funding round.
The Spaceship Company is an American aerospace manufacturing firm that designs, builds, and tests suborbital spacecraft and carrier aircraft. It focuses on developing and producing reusable space vehicles, including SpaceShipTwo vehicles and WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft, utilizing advanced composite materials, hybrid rocket propulsion, and digital twin technology to enable commercial human spaceflight.
The company was established in mid-2005 as a joint venture between the Virgin Group, led by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Scaled Composites, founded by American aerospace engineer Burt Rutan. Their initial insight was to commercialize the suborbital spaceflight technology pioneered by SpaceShipOne, aiming to create a fleet of vehicles for accessible space tourism. Virgin Galactic gained full ownership in October 2012, integrating manufacturing capabilities.
The Spaceship Company's products are primarily for its parent, Virgin Galactic, which offers suborbital flights for paying passengers. With new facilities, the company is scaling production of next-generation Delta-class spaceships designed to carry up to six passengers per flight. Its long-term vision centers on enabling a high cadence of commercial spaceflights, with new vehicles targeting commercial service by late 2026.
Key people at Spaceship.
Spaceship has raised $230K in total across 1 funding round.
Spaceship's investors include Bam Ventures, Infinite Capital, New Markets Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Outlander Labs, Redpoint Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures, Matt Garratt.
Spaceship has raised $230K across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $230K Seed in November 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2020 | $230K Seed | — | BAM Ventures, Infinite Capital, NEW Markets Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Outlander Labs, Redpoint Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Teamworthy Ventures, Matt Garratt | Announced |
Spaceship is an Australian fintech company founded in 2016, focused on making investing accessible and engaging for young people through simple, low-cost products like superannuation (retirement savings), managed funds, and US stock trading.[1][2][5] Its mission is to transform how people—especially younger generations—think about and invest their money, emphasizing forward-thinking, accessibility, curiosity, transparency, and ease of use, with offerings such as Spaceship Super (launched 2017), Spaceship Voyager managed funds (2018), and US Investing (2023).[1][2] Key sectors include retirement savings, global equities via ETFs and stocks (e.g., portfolios like Universe, Origin, Earth), and US markets, serving over 200,000 customers with more than A$1 billion in funds under management as of mid-2021, though it has faced regulatory challenges.[1][2][3][5]
Spaceship was founded in 2016 in Sydney, Australia, by a team aiming to rethink investing for a new generation, starting with Spaceship Super in 2017—a superannuation fund "investing where the world is going"—followed by Spaceship Voyager in 2018 for easy managed fund access, and US Investing in 2023 via a partnership with Alpaca for brokerage APIs.[1][2] The company grew rapidly, hitting 200,000 customers and A$1 billion in funds under management by mid-2021, with a 45-person team based in central Sydney fostering a collaborative culture around innovation and financial products.[1][2] Early traction included strong uptake among millennials, but pivotal moments involved regulatory scrutiny: ASIC issued infringement notices in 2018 for misleading claims about active stock selection (actually ETF-based), resulting in penalties, and in 2022, former CEO Paul Kevin Bennetts received a six-year ban for dishonesty in obtaining qualifications.[3]
(Note: A separate UK entity, Spaceship Investment Limited, incorporated in 2020, focuses on real estate and is unrelated to the Australian operations.[4])
Spaceship rides the fintech democratization wave, targeting underserved young investors in Australia's superannuation-heavy market (mandatory retirement savings), where traditional funds often feel opaque and inaccessible.[1][2][3] Timing aligns with rising millennial/Gen Z interest in personal finance post-2020s economic shifts, low-interest environments, and global market access demands, amplified by app-based trading booms like Robinhood.[1][5] Market forces favoring it include regulatory pushes for transparency (despite its own ASIC issues) and partnerships like Alpaca enabling scalable US exposure without high costs.[1][3] It influences the ecosystem by normalizing micro-investing and education, growing Australia's retail investor base and challenging incumbents, though past compliance hurdles highlight risks in fast-scaling fintechs.[3]
Spaceship is poised for continued expansion by deepening US market integration, enhancing app features, and leveraging its 200,000+ user base amid rising global fintech adoption and Australia's super reforms.[1][2][5] Trends like AI-driven personalization, crypto/ETF growth, and generational wealth transfers will shape its path, potentially boosting funds under management beyond A$1 billion if it navigates regulations smoothly post-ASIC history.[1][3] Its influence may evolve from niche youth disruptor to mainstream player, redefining investing as approachable discovery—echoing its founding mission to transform mindsets for the modern generation.[1][2]
