Led by venture capital firms Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, the new round also drew participation from high-profile backers including Peter Thiel, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Caffeinated Capital. The latest investment brings Varda’s total funding to $329 million, underscoring growing interest in commercial in-space manufacturing.
The California-based startup aims to solve persistent challenges in pharmaceutical production by leveraging microgravity. In orbit, certain medicines can crystallize in ways that are difficult or impossible to achieve on Earth, potentially unlocking new or improved formulations for complex drug molecules.
“This new capital enables us to increase our launch cadence and build the dedicated pharmaceutical lab needed to deliver the world’s first microgravity-enabled drug formulation,” said Will Bruey, Varda’s co-founder and CEO. Speaking on CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast, Bruey explained that the Series C round would support two key priorities: more frequent flights to space and the expansion of a biologics lab to identify which drug candidates benefit most from orbital manufacturing.
Chief Science Officer Adrian Radocea also emphasized the potential to support more complex pharmaceutical projects. “By expanding, we can support work on more complex molecules and ultimately achieve the turnaround times the pharmaceutical industry expects,” he noted in a company statement.
Varda’s manufacturing approach is built around reusable reentry capsules that can carry drug materials to and from orbit. In 2024, the company’s W-Series 1 capsule received U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval for its return, following a mission that successfully produced Ritonavir, an antiviral drug. So far, Varda has completed three space launches, with a fourth mission currently in orbit and a fifth planned by year’s end. All components for these missions are developed in-house.
Beyond commercial drug production, Varda’s technology has attracted attention from the U.S. government, which has used the startup’s W-series reentry vehicles as a testbed for advancing national technology priorities.
The company is also expanding its footprint on the ground. Varda has recently opened facilities in Huntsville, Alaska, and established a new laboratory in El Segundo, California. This lab will focus on crystallizing additional drug formulations in preparation for orbital production.
“Our new lab space is an investment in our belief that in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing will drive the foundation of the orbital economy,” Radocea said, highlighting the company’s long-term vision of establishing a robust commercial presence in low Earth orbit.
As the space industry evolves beyond launch services and satellites, Varda’s bet on orbital drug manufacturing represents one of the most ambitious efforts yet to develop practical, high-value use cases for microgravity—and to prove that space can deliver benefits far beyond exploration.