AstroForge
"We Mine Asteroids"
AstroForge is a USA-based asteroid mining startup developing spacecraft and refining technology to extract platinum-group metals from near-Earth asteroids.
AstroForge is a commercial space resources company founded on January 10, 2022, by Matthew Gialich (CEO) and Jose Acain (CTO), and is headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. The company's mission is to become the first commercial entity to successfully mine and return valuable metals from asteroids, targeting platinum-group metals (PGMs) such as platinum, palladium, osmium, and iridium found in metallic M-type near-Earth asteroids.
Gialich previously led avionics, flight software, and guidance, navigation, and control teams at Virgin Orbit. Acain brings engineering leadership experience from Ex Scientia Technologies. The company graduated from Y Combinator's Winter 2022 batch.
AstroForge's core technology involves laser-based vaporization and magnetic separation processes designed to refine asteroid material in deep space, targeting the extraction of high-value metals before returning them to terrestrial supply chains. The approach is intended to avoid the cost and complexity of returning bulk asteroid material to Earth.
The company has executed two spacecraft missions. Brokkr-1, a 6U CubeSat, was launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 Transporter-7 rideshare mission in April 2023. The mission tested asteroid material refining technologies in low Earth orbit. The second spacecraft, Odin, was launched as a rideshare payload aboard the IM-2 lunar mission on February 27, 2025, targeting near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5 for a flyby approximately 301 days after launch. On March 6, 2025, AstroForge declared Odin lost following ground station communications failures, though sporadic signals were received by an amateur radio operator in Germany.
AstroForge has raised approximately $55 million in total funding: a $13 million seed round led by Initialized Capital with participation from Seven Seven Six, EarthRise, Aera VC, Liquid 2, and Soma; and a $40 million Series A led by Nova Threshold. The company employs approximately 47 people.
AstroForge operates at the frontier of in-space resource utilization, with applications in aerospace, space exploration, and the long-term supply of critical materials for terrestrial and space-based industries.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Brokkr-1
- Model: Brokkr-1
- Launch Year: 2023
6U CubeSat launched in 2023 to test asteroid material refining technologies in low Earth orbit.
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Contact AstroForge
WEBSITE
https://www.astroforge.com/HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2022
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
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