Fundraising Fox

John Gedmark

InvestorFounder

Zero to One Mentor at Commonweal Ventures · Founder/CEO at Astranis

San Francisco, California, United States

FoundedAstranis · YC

About

John Gedmark is an aerospace engineer and the CEO and cofounder of Astranis, a company that builds and operates satellites for geostationary and other high orbits to provide communications infrastructure for enterprises, governments, and the US military. He previously cofounded and served as Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and was Director of Rocket Flight Operations at the X Prize Foundation. He earned a B.S. from Purdue University and an M.S. from Stanford University, both in Aerospace Engineering.

Likely emails· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published

Invests in

Space Tech

Founder/CEO at AstranisYC W16

Intro paths

YC

John went through Y Combinator (Winter 2016) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

GP

Their group partner at YC was Jared Friedman, YC Group Partner — the partner who ran Astranis's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗

→

In turn, John can intro founders to Astranis's investors below.

Astranis's investors · 45

ACE & CompanyNew YorkAndreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checks · since 2026Baillie GiffordEdinburgh · since 2026BAM ElevateChicago · since 2026Black FlagSan Diego · $100K – $1M checksBlackRockNew York · since 2026BoxGroupNew York · $1M checksCantos VenturesSan Francisco · $400K – $1.5M checksCherubic VenturesGrand Cayman · $220K – $27M checksCommonweal VenturesNew York · $500K – $2.5M checksCrunchFundElefundMountain ViewFelicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checksFidelity InvestmentsBoston · since 2026Fifty YearsSan Francisco · $250K – $2M checksFranklin TempletonSan Mateo · since 2026Friends Family CapitalSilicon Valley · since 2026Garage CapitalWaterlooHarpoon VenturesSan Diego · $100K – $5M checksHaystackSan Francisco · $1M – $3M checksHelium-3 VenturesNew YorkInvariantes FundGuatemala CityJude GomilaLynnwoodKoch Disruptive TechnologiesSan FranciscoLiquid VenturesSan Francisco · $250K – $5M checksLux CapitalNew York · $100K – $100M checksManta Ray VenturesLondonMetaplanetTallinn · $500K – $10M checksNimble PartnersSan Francisco · since 2026NKM CapitalSan FranciscoPage One VenturesSilicon ValleyPreston-Werner VenturesSan Francisco Bay Area · $500K – $3M checksRefactor CapitalBurlingame · $1M – $2M checksRising TidePacificaSnowPoint VenturesWest Palm Beach · since 2026SV AngelSan FranciscoTeam GlobalBerlinTrinity CapitalPhoenix · since 2026Tuesday CapitalSan FranciscoU.S. Air Forcesince 2019UpHonest CapitalSilicon Valley · $50K – $1M checksV1 VCBoulder · $100K – $300K checksVenrockPalo Alto · $500K – $10M checksXYZ Venture CapitalSan Francisco · $10K – $5M checksY CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2016

Co-founders at Astranis

RMRyan McLinko
Ryan McLinkoFounder/CTO

Experience

  1. AstranisCEO & Cofoundercurrent2015 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. Commercial Spaceflight FederationCofounder, Executive Director2007 — 2012
  3. X Prize FoundationDirector of Flight Operations2005 — 2007Santa Monica, California
  4. VariousAerospace Engineering Internships2001 — 2005Various

Skills & more

Satellite Systems Engineering3Rocket PropulsionSatellite Tool KitOctaveGenetic AlgorithmsMachine LearningSolidworksC++5Matlab5Objective-CiOS1Ruby
+2 moreReactR

From John's professional profile.

Podcasts & interviews

featuring John Gedmark

You Don’t Have To Be A Billionaire To Launch Satellites

Y Combinator

Colleagues at Commonweal Ventures

Alan Estevez
Senior Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Alicia Barton
Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Anthony Foxx
Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Brenna Berman
Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Carol Browner
Senior Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Eddie Fishman
Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Edward Davis
Advisor at Commonweal Ventures
Evan Smith
Advisor at Commonweal Ventures

Frequently asked questions

Who is John Gedmark?
John Gedmark is an aerospace engineer and the CEO and cofounder of Astranis, a company that builds and operates satellites for geostationary and other high orbits to provide communications infrastructure for enterprises, governments, and the US military. He previously cofounded and served as Executive Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and was Director of Rocket Flight Operations at the X Prize Foundation. He earned a B.S. from Purdue University and an M.S. from Stanford University, both in Aerospace Engineering.
Where does John Gedmark work?
John Gedmark is Founder/CEO of Astranis and Zero to One Mentor at Commonweal Ventures.
What does John Gedmark invest in?
John Gedmark invests in Space Tech.
What companies did John Gedmark found?
John Gedmark founded Astranis.
Where did John Gedmark go to school?
John Gedmark studied at Stanford University (Master of Science, Aerospace Engineering); Purdue University (Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering); Y Combinator.
What podcasts and interviews feature John Gedmark?
Tracked appearances include "You Don’t Have To Be A Billionaire To Launch Satellites".

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia8,773

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded HotspotsTrae StephensYC Winter 2022Founded Pursuit +1

+ 8,766 more

Y Combinator mafia4,716

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3

+ 4,709 more

Stanford University mafia903

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Peter ThielJ.D.Founded PayPal +1Reid HoffmanB.S.Founded LinkedIn +2Joe LonsdaleBSFounded Opto +3Mike Maples JrBSFounded Pattern BreakersSteve JurvetsonMSEEFounded Mojo VisionBalaji SrinivasanGraduate StudentFounded Counsyl +1

+ 896 more

Purdue University mafia79

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Gaurav SantBSCEFounded CarbonBuilt +2Aaron SistoBSFounded Searchable AI +1Ignacio MartinezAgribusiness Leadership PlusFounded Cibo Technologies +1Jack O'MearaBachelor’s DegreeFounded Aerska +1Patrick SigristMaster’s DegreeFounded IORQ +1John BohlmannB.Sci.Founded Spacefund +1

+ 72 more

Commonweal Ventures mafia3

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Nate LevineZero to One MentorFounded OpenGovMatt EnsticePresident and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc.Founded Green Project Technologies

Same school

Also attended Stanford University2,000

Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; former White House AI & Crypto CzarKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorAlfred LinPartner at Sequoia Capital

+ 1,994 more

Also attended Purdue University203

Mamoon HamidPartner at Kleiner PerkinsKenneth Morand, Ph.D.Life Sciences Partner at CincyTechJane CommerfordOperations at 8VCSven StrohbandInvestor at Khosla VenturesJeff PetersPartner at Ibex InvestorsKenneth MorandLife Sciences Partner at CincyTech

+ 197 more

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyArhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear VenturesMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports Ventures

+ 1,994 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Astranis17

David BeyerPartner at Amplify PartnersMo El-BibanyGeneral Partner at Page One VenturesSerik KaldykulovFounder/Managing Partner at ElefundRayyan IslamCo-Founder and General Partner at 8090 IndustriesArnav SahuPartner at Peak XV PartnersAmber YangInvestor at Bloomberg Beta

+ 11 more

Also worked at Commercial Spaceflight Federation4

Alexandra JohnsonHead of External Affairs at Industrious VenturesDylan TaylorGlobal business leader, commercial astronaut, and philanthropist active in the NewSpace sectorEsther DysonInvestor at Blue Tulip VenturesLisa RichManaging Partner at Hemisphere Ventures LLC

Also worked at X Prize Foundation23

Dr. Michael NayakAdvisor at Industrious VenturesSergey YoungCo-Founder at BOLD LongevityPeter DiamandisPhysician, entrepreneur, and futurist inspiring leaders to think exponentially and create a future of abundanceAaron FykeFounder and Managing Partner at Thin Line CapitalSergey YoungCo-Founder BOLD Longevity at Bold Capital PartnersRyan BethencourtManaging Partner at Sustainable Food Ventures

+ 17 more