Varda Space Industries
Founded in January 2021 by former SpaceX engineer Will Bruey and Founders Fund partner Delian Asparouhov, Varda Space Industries is pioneering in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing using microgravity to create superior drug formulations.
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- El Segundo, United States
- Stage
- Early stage
- Ownership
- Private
- Total raised
- $329M
- Last valuation
- $520M
- Employees
- 175as of 2025
- Last round
- Series B · $90M2023-12
- Investors
- 3
Quick Facts
About Varda Space Industries
Founded in January 2021 by former SpaceX engineer Will Bruey and Founders Fund partner Delian Asparouhov, Varda Space Industries is pioneering in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing using microgravity to create superior drug formulations. The company designs spacecraft that process small molecule pharmaceuticals in microgravity where suppressed convection and sedimentation produce more uniform crystals, improving drug shelf-life, bioavailability, and patient experience.
In February 2024, Varda made history as only the third company ever to return materials from orbit, successfully bringing back ritonavir HIV medication crystals from their W-1 mission after navigating complex regulatory approvals. With $329 million raised through Series C funding, the El Segundo-based company has flown a series of W-class reentry capsules, with missions through W-6 listed on its own platform page, demonstrating that materials can be processed in orbit and returned to Earth commercially.
Products and product lines
| Product | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| W-Series reentry capsule | Spacecraft | Autonomous orbital-manufacturing-and-reentry capsule; Varda had flown six missions (W-1 through W-6) as of May 2026, using C-PICA ablative heat shields for hypersonic reentry. |
| Pharmaceutical crystallization reactor | In-space manufacturing payload | Microgravity reactor that processes small-molecule drug crystals in orbit, first demonstrated with a ritonavir (HIV medication) crystallization run returned in February 2024. |
| Autonomous hypersonic navigation system | Avionics | Onboard navigation payload that uses imagery of resident space objects to determine capsule position during hypersonic reentry; demonstrated on the W-6 mission in May 2026 for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Prometheus program. |
| C-PICA heat shield instrumentation | Thermal protection | Conformal ablative heat shield flights carrying Sandia National Laboratories- and NASA Ames-instrumented tiles that record reentry temperatures to validate thermal-protection models. |
| In-space semiconductor manufacturing | In-space manufacturing (new line of business) | Varda signed a deal with United Semiconductor to explore semiconductor manufacturing aboard its platform, disclosed alongside the W-5 mission in November 2025. |
Timeline
- 2025 Varda's W-5 mission becomes the company's first to operate two spacecraft simultaneously in orbit (alongside W-4); the company reports roughly 175 employees, bookings into 2027, and a new United Semiconductor deal to explore in-space semiconductor manufacturing. [source]
- 2025 TechCrunch reports Varda has raised $329 million through its Series C (closed July 2025) and is targeting the $210 billion monoclonal-antibody market, with CEO Will Bruey describing the company as being in the "in-space industry" rather than space per se. [source]
- 2026 The Pentagon's Test Resource Management Center selects Varda alongside Stratolaunch on January 22 as a reusable/recoverable launch provider for the MACH-TB 2.0 hypersonic test bed program, supporting a DoD goal of 50 hypersonic flight tests a year. [source]
- 2026 Varda and United Therapeutics announce a collaboration on May 13 to process small-molecule pulmonary-disease drug candidates in microgravity aboard Varda's orbital platform across multiple missions. [source]
- 2026 Varda's W-6 capsule reenters at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia on May 19, validating an autonomous hypersonic navigation system for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Prometheus program and carrying Sandia- and NASA Ames-instrumented thermal-protection tiles. [source]
- 2026 Former Pfizer R&D chief Mikael Dolsten, who oversaw approval of more than 36 medicines during 16 years at Pfizer, joins Varda's board on August 3 as the company plans roughly ten more launches and reentries through 2027. [source]
Will Bruey (CEO, Co-founder), Delian Asparouhov (Co-founder)
Funding history
4 events · $329M raised| Date | Round | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-12-07 | Series B | $90M | Khosla VenturesFounders FundCaffeinated CapitalSeries B funding for space manufacturing | varda.com |
| 2021-10-14 | Undisclosed round | $2.8M | —Form D filed 2022-01-18 by Varda Space Industries, Inc.: $2.8M sold of a $2.8M offering (first sale 2021-10-14). | sec.gov |
| 2021-09-03 | Undisclosed round | $42.2M | —Form D filed 2021-09-20 by Varda Space Industries, Inc.: $42.2M sold of a $42.2M offering (first sale 2021-09-03). | sec.gov |
| 2020-12-23 | Undisclosed round | $9.0M | —Form D filed 2021-01-22 by Varda Space Industries, Inc.: $9.0M sold of a $9.0M offering (first sale 2020-12-23). | sec.gov |
Investors
From the sourced rounds above. Investors with two or more deals in the directory link to a portfolio page.
Team
- Will BrueyCEO · source
Signals
- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-09
Categories & Capabilities
Industry Categories
Funding
Location
Loading map...
Share
Suggest an Edit
Is this information outdated or incorrect? Help us improve this profile.
Submit CorrectionExplore More
Discover 1,000+ space companies worldwide
Similar Companies
Other companies in in-space-services
Redwire
Redwire Corporation is a leading space infrastructure company pioneering in-space manufacturing, 3D bioprinting, and adv...
Rhodium Scientific
Rhodium Scientific is a Houston-based space biotechnology company, founded in 2014 by CEO Olivia Gamez Holzhaus, that pr...
Tethers Unlimited (now Amergint Space)
Amergint Space, now operating as part of ARKA AMERGINT Technologies, is a Bothell, Washington-based company focused on t...
Space Forge
Space Forge is a Welsh in-space manufacturing company developing the ForgeStar reusable spacecraft platform for producin...
Vast
Vast is an American commercial space station company founded in 2021 by billionaire Jed McCaleb (co-founder of Ripple an...
Above Space Development
Founded in 2021 and based in Houston, Texas, Above Space Development is a commercial space technology company focused on...
Also in United States
Other space companies based in United States
Related Articles
Industry analysis mentioning Varda Space Industries
Frequently asked about Varda Space Industries
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Varda Space Industries founded?
- Varda Space Industries was founded in 2021 in United States.
- Where is Varda Space Industries headquartered?
- Varda Space Industries is headquartered in El Segundo, United States.
- What does Varda Space Industries do?
- Founded in January 2021 by former SpaceX engineer Will Bruey and Founders Fund partner Delian Asparouhov, Varda Space Industries is pioneering in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing using microgravity to create superior drug formulations. The company designs spacecraft that process small molecule pharmaceuticals in micr…
- Is Varda Space Industries a public or private company?
- Varda Space Industries is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange.
- What sector does Varda Space Industries operate in?
- Varda Space Industries works in in space services, Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical, plus 2 other space-industry sectors.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Official website (varda.com)
- Company LinkedIn page
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- SEC Form D · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Wikidata / Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Payload: Varda To Operate Two Spacecraft at Once with W-5 Mission (Nov 10, 2025) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- TechCrunch: Varda says it has proven space manufacturing works, now it wants to make it boring (Nov 30, 2025) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Defense Daily: Stratolaunch, Varda Space Selected As Launch Providers for Hypersonic Test Bed (Jan 22, 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- PR Newswire: Varda Space Industries and United Therapeutics Collaborate (May 13, 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- PR Newswire: Varda Space Industries Successfully Reenters W-6 (May 19, 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- PR Newswire: Varda Announces Biopharma Leader Mikael Dolsten Will Join Board (Aug 3, 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-09
- Varda Space Industries: platform and W-series missions · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Funding: Series B funding for space manufacturing (2023-12-07) · retrieved 2026-09-04
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Varda Space Industries is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.