Stellar Ventures

Stellar Ventures is a woman-led venture capital firm investing in the next generation of space entrepreneurs. Stellar Ventures invests in early-stage, mission-driven space technology companies, leveraging its technical expertise and network in the aerospace sector. The firm partners with extraordinary leaders who are utilizing space technology to build exceptional businesses that will change the world. Founded in 2022 by Celeste Ford, who previously founded and led Stellar Solutions, a 300+ person aerospace engineering firm, from 1995 to 2018, the fund benefits from deep deal flow, technical diligence, and government customer introductions across defense, intelligence, and commercial space. Co-founder David Anderman previously served as SpaceX's general counsel and COO/general counsel of Lucasfilm. The firm has backed 27 startups spanning pure-play space infrastructure and adjacent AI, robotics, and cybersecurity companies, including Xona Space Systems, Vast, Firehawk Aerospace, Darkhive, SpiderOak, Solestial, and The Exploration Company. Stellar also co-leads the Orbital Edge Accelerator alongside the ISS National Lab. Stellar's investment approach is conviction-based and technically grounded, prioritizing technical excellence, market need, and sound business fundamentals; notably, 14.5% of the fund's capital has gone to solo female founders, well above the 2024 VC industry average of 2%.