U.K.-based startup Space Forge has secured £22.6 million (approximately $30 million) in a Series A funding round to advance its pioneering initiative of manufacturing semiconductor materials in space. Headquartered in Cardiff, Wales, Space Forge is aiming to overcome current limitations encountered in chip material manufacturing by leveraging unique orbital environments.
With demand for semiconductor technology soaring, sectors from artificial intelligence to electric vehicles require increasingly efficient chips. However, traditional silicon materials are approaching their performance ceiling, prompting researchers to explore novel methods and materials. Space Forge believes the conditions in orbit—primarily microgravity—can enable the growth of crystals and advanced wafer materials with significantly fewer defects and greater efficiency than those produced on Earth.
The startup has already demonstrated real-world relevance through collaborations such as one with British telecommunications giant BT. Together, they are investigating how specialized space-grown crystals can reduce energy consumption in 5G mobile networks. Because crystals formed in weightless conditions exhibit fewer structural flaws, they promise a potential leap in device performance and efficiency.
Although the concept of manufacturing chips off-world may sound futuristic, Space Forge CEO Joshua Western emphasized that the concept is rooted in decades of research stretching back to the 1970s. “We’re standing on the shoulders of about fifty years of research,” Western noted, adding that producing wafer materials in space has been long recognized as commercially viable.
The startup’s unique positioning has drawn notable backers, including NATO’s Innovation Fund, which led the recent investment round. The technology’s dual-use potential, both as a critical defense asset and as a commercially valuable innovation, has attracted support from major defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman.
Space Forge’s business model emphasizes collaboration: it does not build or launch rockets but relies on partnering with established launch providers, a process Western describes as “a solved problem.” Space Forge is focused instead on developing technologies required for safely returning manufactured materials to Earth. Their distinctive re-entry apparatus, nicknamed “Mary Poppins from space,” unfolds during descent to slow and steer payloads safely to Earth’s surface.
This payload-return technology, notably the heat shield named “Pridwen” after King Arthur’s legendary shield, as well as “Fielder,” an innovative floating net system designed to gently capture payloads upon aquatic landing, is crucial to the startup’s operations. Space Forge has received support from the U.K. Space Agency and the European Space Agency in developing these return mechanisms.
Expanding its operational footprint, the company recently opened an office on Santa Maria Island in the Portuguese Azores, strategically located to facilitate satellite returns to mainland Europe. Establishing logistics infrastructure across Europe signals Space Forge’s ambitions for industrial-scale adoption.
While current costs remain high, Western sees long-term viability through reducing expenses and demonstrating concrete benefits to critical industries. Potential markets for these specialized materials include quantum computing and telecommunications infrastructure as well as defense applications. Geopolitical uncertainties and Europe’s ongoing desire to reduce dependency on Taiwanese semiconductor supplies further enhance Space Forge’s competitive outlook.
Sustainability also forms part of the company’s narrative. Investors such as World Fund, a climate-focused venture capital firm that participated in both seed and Series A rounds, view Space Forge’s technology as potentially carbon-negative, capable of significantly reducing emissions in semiconductor production—pending commercial-scale validation and adoption.
Despite setbacks, including the loss of its inaugural payload when Virgin Orbit’s 2023 U.K. launch mission failed, Space Forge is accelerating the development of its next spacecraft, “ForgeStar-1.” Scheduled to launch later this year, this demonstration mission, humorously titled “The Forge Awakens,” underscores the company’s determination to establish in-orbit manufacturing as a viable and transformative industry.
