Solestial, Inc. (“Solestial”), a solar energy company specializing in photovoltaic solutions for space, announced the closing of a $17 million Series A funding round. The round was led by AE Ventures and included new participation from Crosscut Ventures, Zeon Ventures, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s ME Innovation Fund, managed by Global Brain Corporation. Existing backers — Airbus Ventures, General Purpose Venture Capital, Industrious Ventures, Stellar Ventures, and Techstars — also joined the round.
This capital infusion will enable a scale-up of silicon photovoltaic manufacturing capacity to 1 megawatt annually, matching the combined estimated yearly output of all U.S. and E.U.-based III-V space solar manufacturers.
In conjunction with the funding announcement, Margo de Naray was named Chief Executive Officer. Previously serving as Senior VP & GM of Space Products and Services at Astra, de Naray brings two decades of experience in commercial strategy and operations within advanced technology sectors. Company co-founder Stanislau Herasimenka transitions to Chief Technology Officer, where focus will shift to product development and expansion of operations technology.
“We are thrilled to welcome Margo to lead Solestial into its next chapter,” said Herasimenka. “This transition allows me to continue developing our cutting-edge technology, while Margo brings additional strategic leadership and operational experience to deliver at scale.”
De Naray enters the role during a period of rapid growth. “We’re seeing tremendous market demand, and we are focused on delivering high-quality products,” she said. “We’re hiring, scaling production, and qualifying our technology, which is already deployed on multiple missions in space.”
“Space solar is a critical bottleneck in a rapidly growing industry with an ever-expanding set of missions — from national security to lunar exploration,” said Beckett Jackson, Partner at AE Ventures. “Solestial is uniquely positioned to serve spacecraft manufacturers with mass production of a lightweight, radiation-hardened solution at lower cost and a fraction of the lead time of the current standard.”
Solestial is the only known space solar manufacturer with proven capability to self-heal radiation damage, offering spacecraft manufacturers cost and weight reductions without compromising energy output or reliability.
“Solestial continues to revolutionize low-cost, lightweight solar power for space. Stan’s continued focus on the technical breadth of Solestial products and Margo’s new addition as a leader of the team are the ingredients to unlock the next phases of growth and success,” said Mat Costes, Partner at Airbus Ventures. “We are also thrilled to welcome new investors and see investors from the seed round returning, collectively signifying what we all know — the market applications for this technology are robust, fast accelerating, and Solestial is ready to meet market demand.”