Arinna

Arinna is a U.S. space-energy startup developing ultra-thin, flexible solar power technology for spacecraft, founded by Stanford PhDs Koosha Nazif (CEO) and Alex Shearer (CTO). The company builds on more than a decade of semiconductor industry research and development to produce flexible, 2D-semiconductor-based solar cells intended to replace the rigid, heavy, cover-glass-protected solar panels that have been the industry standard for decades.

Arinna markets its technology on claims of roughly 10x higher power-per-mass than legacy silicon panels, solar-cell efficiency up to 32%, a projected in-orbit lifetime of 15-plus years, radiation hardness suitable for the orbital environment, and the ability to bend tighter than a pencil without a protective cover glass. The company positions this as both a cost and schedule advantage, citing production costs around 6x cheaper than silicon alternatives and manufacturing lead times of weeks rather than the 12-plus months typical of conventional space-qualified solar panels, targeting satellite operators running smaller, faster-turnaround ("agile") missions.

The company cites backing and support from U.S. government and institutional sources including NASA, the U.S. Army, the National Science Foundation, Stanford University's High Impact Technology (HIT) Fund, the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy, and Stanford-affiliated startup accelerator StartX. Arinna frames the opportunity it is addressing as the growing electrical power demand of in-orbit space infrastructure, citing an estimate that the space economy will require 3 GW of in-orbit power by 2035.

As of the information available, Arinna had not publicly disclosed its exact founding date, headquarters city, employee count or flight heritage, indicating the company is at an early, pre-flight development stage rather than an operational supplier with satellites already carrying its hardware.