Northwood Space, a satellite ground-network startup based in Torrance, California, has closed a $375 million Series C funding round that values the company at $2 billion. The announcement came on Monday, November 2, 2026, and moves the young company firmly into unicorn territory. Andreessen Horowitz and DFJ Growth co-led the round, which also arrives alongside a separate multi-year credit line from HSBC Innovation Banking.

Every satellite in orbit needs a way to send data back to Earth and receive instructions in return. That connection happens through ground stations, which are large antennas linked to scheduling software. Northwood, founded in 2022 and led by co-founder and CEO Bridgit Mendler, builds a shared network of these stations so that satellite operators can reserve capacity rather than build and maintain their own dedicated sites. The company’s antennas are designed to work across different orbits, which makes the network flexible for a wide range of customers.

The $375 million Series C follows a $100 million Series B raised in January 2026. Since that earlier round, Northwood says it has deployed six multi-orbit-capable sites across two continents and won a Space Force contract worth close to $50 million to help upgrade the country’s satellite control network. The new capital will go toward delivering on existing contracts, hiring and expanding the ground network for commercial and government customers. The company has said it plans to add about 400 jobs over three years and to announce several site and network expansions in the first half of 2027.

Most of the attention in the space economy goes to rockets and satellites. Northwood’s pitch is that the ground has become the constraint. As more constellations launch, the number of satellites needing to talk to Earth grows faster than the number of antennas available to listen. Industry tracker Space Capital has projected that total space investment could top $100 billion in 2026, and the infrastructure that moves data between orbit and the ground is a logical beneficiary of that spending.

The round is a reminder that investors are willing to back infrastructure businesses that solve a clear, measurable bottleneck. Space infrastructure companies have typically been valued more conservatively than software firms, so a $2 billion price tag stands out. It also shows how quickly a well-timed company can scale: Northwood has moved from a $100 million Series B to a $375 million Series C within the same year.

The challenge now shifts from fundraising to execution. Building hundreds of ground sites means manufacturing antennas at far higher volume than the company produces today, securing land and regulatory approvals in many countries, and keeping the network reliable as customers depend on it. The first-half 2027 expansion announcements will be an early test of how quickly the company can turn capital into capacity. Customer concentration, competition from established ground-network operators and the broader funding climate are also worth monitoring.

Northwood Space’s $375 million raise shows that the satellite economy is maturing beyond launch and hardware. By focusing on the often overlooked link between orbit and Earth, the company has secured major backing and the resources to scale. Readers should consider their own circumstances before making financial or investment decisions.