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Varda Space Industries

El Segundo, US · Founded 2021 · 272 employees on LinkedIn · 43 known investors

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Varda industrializes low Earth orbit by manufacturing pharmaceuticals and other specialized products in space, then returning them to Earth via reusable reentry capsules. The company develops both in-space production infrastructure and the vehicles needed to support commercial orbital manufacturing.

Also known as Varda · Varda Space Industries

Founders & leadership

Varda Space Industries was founded in 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov.

WBWill Bruey
Will BrueyCo-founderPreviously spent six years at SpaceX as a lead hardware development engineer and Dragon spacecraft systems officer, followed by a stint as a director in global equities technology at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He also co-founded Also Capital and earlier worked as an electrical engineer at Cornell's synchrotron accelerator and at Space Systems Loral.
DADelian Asparouhov
Delian AsparouhovCo-founderA partner at Founders Fund, where he has invested since 2019, he previously held principal and chief of staff roles at Khosla Ventures and ran the marketplace and music/entertainment businesses at Teespring. Earlier, he was CEO of the healthcare startup Nightingale App.

Investors · 43

Balaji Srinivasanlisted by Balaji Srinivasan$10K – $500K

How we know: deep research dossier: balaji-srinivasan · Not right? Tell us

Saga VenturesreportedAustin

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Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Varda Space Industries, based in El Segundo, California, develops a platform built entirely in-house for orbital material processing and atmospheric reentry. The company organizes its offerings around three areas: government customers, for whom it positions its vehicles as a hypersonic testbed for reentry and orbital flight testing; biopharma customers, for whom it offers microgravity processing to identify unique morphologies and crystal structures; and broader microgravity research.

The company's platform is marketed under the name W-Series. Varda frames its mission as expanding the economic bounds of humankind and describes its work in terms of an orbital industrial revolution.

Business model

Varda offers access to its in-house orbital processing and reentry platform to external customers, with dedicated contact channels and solution lines for government, biopharma, and microgravity research users.

Latest developments

Varda announced a research collaboration with United Therapeutics.

▸Full profile — technology, go-to-market, geography

Technology

A vertically developed (in-house) system for processing materials in orbit and returning them through atmospheric reentry, offered commercially as the W-Series platform.

Go-to-market

Government agencies seeking hypersonic reentry and orbital flight testing capability, biopharmaceutical companies pursuing crystallization and morphology work in microgravity, and microgravity researchers.

Geography

Headquartered at 225 S Aviation Blvd, El Segundo, California, United States.

Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported
HeadcountAug 2026272

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Founder mafia

4 people who came through Varda Space Industries went on to found or lead other companies.

Related companies · 4

Companies working in the same space as Varda Space Industries.

Non-dilutive funding · 3 SBIR/STTR awards

Federal grants — no equity taken
AgencyPhaseYearAmount
U.S. Air ForceAir ForcePhase II2023$29.5M
U.S. Air ForceAir ForcePhase I2022$46.4K
U.S. Air ForceAir ForcePhase II2021$443.5K

Source: SBIR.gov award data (U.S. Small Business Administration). SBIR/STTR awards are competitive federal R&D grants and contracts — non-dilutive capital alongside any venture rounds above.

Timeline · 1

launches, deals, and filings
Jan 2026
Research collaboration with United Therapeutics

Varda announced a research collaboration with United Therapeutics.

source ↗

Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.

▸Research sources · 1

primary sources listed

1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Varda Space Industries do?
Varda Space Industries operates an in-house platform for orbital material processing and return of products to Earth.
Who founded Varda Space Industries?
Varda Space Industries was founded by Will Bruey, Delian Asparouhov in 2021.
Who are Varda Space Industries's investors?
Varda Space Industries's investors include Also Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, 137 Ventures, Advaita Capital and 35 more.
Where is Varda Space Industries headquartered?
Varda Space Industries is headquartered in El Segundo, US.