Sydney space power company MP Space has closed a $23 million (about US$16.1 million) seed round led by Blackbird Ventures.

Seraphim Space, Systemiq Capital, Speedinvest and MFV Partners also invested. Dynamic Business reports it is Seraphim’s first Australian investment.

What MP Space makes

The company was co-founded in 2024 by ex-Tesla engineers Jay Manley (CEO) and Sam Paterson. It builds low-cost power hardware for satellites, starting with small-satellite batteries under 5kg.

Its roadmap includes:

  • maximum power point trackers and chargers
  • power conditioning and distribution units
  • solar array drive assemblies
  • larger power systems for the bigger satellites that heavy-lift rockets will carry.

Traction

MP Space’s batteries first flew on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-5 mission. The company says it has orders to support more than 500 spacecraft and wants to produce 5,000 units a year by the end of next year.

The money will go into more manufacturing capacity and a bigger engineering team in Sydney.