Stardust is a technology company.
Stardust has raised $95.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Stardust has raised $95.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Stardust has raised $95.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Stardust's investors include Benchmark, Delta Blockchain Fund, Framework Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Sebastien Borget, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Interplay Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Techstars, Torch Capital, Wave Financial.
Stardust is a U.S.-incorporated climate tech startup founded in 2023 and based in Israel, developing proprietary solar geoengineering technology to reflect sunlight away from Earth and counteract global warming.[2][3][4] The company focuses on stratospheric aerosol injection using carefully chosen, patentable particles deployed via high-altitude aircraft or balloons, targeting deployment by the end of the decade with plans for a particle fabrication facility, aircraft fleet, and monitoring systems.[2][3] It serves global efforts to mitigate climate change by addressing the limitations of emissions reductions alone, solving the problem of rapid planetary cooling at massive economic scale—potentially using just millions of tons of material annually.[3] Stardust has raised $60 million, including a $15 million seed round backed by investors like AWZ Ventures, signaling strong growth momentum amid rising climate tech investments.[3]
Stardust emerged post-pandemic when co-founders Yanai Yedvab (CEO) and another physicist, alongside Eli Waxman—a particle physics professor at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science—applied a first-principles approach to climate change.[3] Intrigued by national climate plans and data showing insufficient warming mitigation, they zeroed in on solar geoengineering's potential, inspired by natural events like the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption that cooled the planet via atmospheric particles.[2][3] The trio incorporated the company in early 2023, shifting from theoretical concepts to proprietary particle development led by former Israeli government physicists.[3][4] Early traction came from securing seed funding and advancing toward patented sunlight-scattering tech, positioning it ahead of university-led research.[3]
(Note: This Stardust is distinct from Stardust Technology (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., a Chinese firm in refractory metal powders for aerospace and 3D printing.[1])
Stardust rides the solar geoengineering trend, accelerating amid post-2021 climate laws in the U.S. and Europe that boosted clean energy but fell short on halting near-term warming.[3] Timing is critical as greenhouse gases accumulate irreversibly for decades, making "solar dimming" a complementary tool to net-zero efforts—echoing natural analogs like volcanic eruptions that temporarily cooled Earth.[2] Favorable market forces include plummeting clean tech costs rivaling fossil fuels and venture interest in high-impact moonshots, with Stardust's $60M raise exemplifying private capital filling gaps left by cautious public research.[3] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering proprietary deployment, potentially shifting geoengineering from academic debate to scalable industry, though it raises governance questions about private control over planetary interventions.[2]
Stardust is poised to lead commercial solar geoengineering, with deployment tech targeted for 2030 amid escalating climate urgency—next steps include particle scaling, fleet buildup, and regulatory navigation.[3] Trends like AI-driven climate modeling and stratospheric logistics will shape its path, amplifying efficacy while demanding robust safety data to counter ethical concerns.[2] Its influence could evolve from innovator to ecosystem shaper, licensing tech or partnering with governments, fundamentally altering how humanity hacks the climate if it proves viable and governable—transforming a renegade 2012 ocean experiment into profitable planetary defense.[2][3]
Stardust has raised $95.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $60.0M Venture Round in October 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2025 | $60.0M Venture Round | Benchmark, Delta Blockchain Fund, Framework Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Sebastien Borget | |
| Oct 1, 2022 | $30.0M Series A | Delta Blockchain Fund, Framework Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Interplay Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Techstars, Torch Capital, Wave Financial, Sebastien Borget | |
| Sep 1, 2021 | $5.0M Seed | Framework Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Interplay Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Techstars, Torch Capital, Sebastien Borget |