True Anomaly, which develops hardware and software systems to help space security and readiness, has raised $100 million led by Riot Ventures.

The company’s valuation was not disclosed, but Bloomberg reported it was not $1 billion.

Other investors participating in the round include Eclipse Ventures, Acme Capital, Menlo Ventures, Narya Capital, 645 Ventures, Rocketship.vc, Champion Hill Ventures and FiveNine Ventures. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $158 million to date.

The Centennial, Colorado-based startup helps the government and commercial customers keep an eye on threats to assets like satellites they have in space. The company’s Jackal autonomous orbital vehicles, which can detect objects in space, are slated to launch aboard SpaceX‘s Transporter-10 mission next year.

“Space is the newest and most vulnerable theater of contemporary global competition, but the U.S. and its allies are ill-equipped for a conflict that begins in or extends into space,” said co-founder and CEO Even Rogers. “True Anomaly is solving this by building the technologies for a more secure, stable, sustainable and transparent space environment.”

Space and defense

True Anomaly is the latest startup that straddles the defense and space industries to raise big cash.

Late last month, rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major said it had added another $38 million to its previously reported $100 million Series D — bringing its total Series D and D-1 funding to $138 million.

Both sectors are down quite a bit in funding compared to last year. Crunchbase data shows that while U.S.-based defense tech startups saw only $2.2 billion invested last year — including Anduril Industries’ $1.5 billion Series E — that number has dropped to less than $900 million so far this year.

Space tech funding also has slowed, per Crunchbase data. Last year, nearly $9.2 billion in funding went to the sector, but this year has seen only about $5.2 billion.

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Illustration: Dom Guzman