Sydney-based startup MP Space has successfully secured $23 million in a Seed funding round to scale the manufacturing of advanced spacecraft power systems in Australia. The investment round was led by Blackbird, with participation from Systemiq Capital, Speedinvest, MFV Partners, and London-based venture capital firm Seraphim Space, marking its first-ever Australian investment. Founded in early 2024 by former Tesla engineers Jay Manley and Sam Paterson, the company aims to bring mass-manufactured, electric-vehicle-grade battery technology and power management platforms to the rapidly expanding satellite and space industry.
From Automotive Engineering to Space Power
MP Space focuses on building hardware and software infrastructure designed to generate, store, and manage electrical power for modern spacecraft. According to company disclosures and reports, the founders leveraged extensive backgrounds in high-volume manufacturing environments, including Tesla, Apple, Zoox, and Vow. CEO Jay Manley spent years working on powertrain and energy engineering teams such as Powerwall 2 and 3, while Chief Commercial Officer Sam Paterson worked on battery packs for the Tesla Model S, X, and 3. The startup’s flagship offering, the Pack2 lithium-ion battery platform, integrates battery management systems, survival heaters, protections, and communication interfaces into a single, low-cost, high-reliability package designed specifically for low Earth orbit applications.
Expanding Manufacturing and Investor Backing
The newly acquired capital will be directed toward expanding manufacturing capacity, developing a broader range of electric power systems, and growing the local Australian engineering team. MP Space operates out of the NSW government-backed Defence and Aerospace Hub located at Cicada Innovations in Sydney. Investors have expressed strong confidence in the startup's rapid trajectory. Blackbird partner Samantha Wong noted that the founders have moved with remarkable speed and precision, delivering a software-defined battery boasting high gravimetric energy density in under two years. Meanwhile, Seraphim Space vice president Lucas Bishop highlighted that the funding will help address a critical industry-wide gap for independent, reliable hardware suppliers.
What Scalable Space Power Means for Modern Constellations
The infusion of $23 million into MP Space highlights a structural shift in the commercial space sector. Historically, spacecraft manufacturers have been forced to rely heavily on vertical integration, building bespoke, high-cost, and low-volume power systems internally because the market lacked proven, independent suppliers capable of delivering critical hardware reliably at scale. As satellite constellations grow larger and payloads become more complex, the demand for onboard processing and continuous power has surged dramatically. Modern spacecraft require substantially more energy to operate services efficiently in orbit, putting immense pressure on every subsystem to become more repeatable, cost-effective, and easier to integrate. By introducing off-the-shelf, mass-manufactured power hardware built on automotive-grade manufacturing principles, startups like MP Space aim to reverse historical over-reliance on custom-built components. With technology already selected for missions involving hundreds of spacecraft and scheduled flight heritage milestones, the company is positioning itself to capture significant market share as the global space economy accelerates. However, successfully scaling production while maintaining strict reliability standards in the harsh environment of space remains a demanding engineering challenge that requires continuous validation and rigorous testing.
Editorial graphic and headline text by Signal Titans.
Source: Satellite batteries startup MP Space takes off with $23 million Seed round · Home – MP Space
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