This Apex company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Apex works in space, with a focus on satellite manufacturing. It was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its latest valuation on record is US$2.3 billion (June 2026). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total funding | More than US$700 million (as reported) | June 2026 | Via Satellite |
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | Growth funding (described as Series E by counsel) | More than US$200M | US$2.3B | Glade Brook Capital Partners (lead); Washington Harbour Partners (co-lead) | Greenberg Traurig |
| Sep 2025 | Series D | US$200M | More than US$1B | See source | Via Satellite |
Apex timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2022 — Apex is founded in Los Angeles by Ian Cinnamon (CEO) and Max Benassi.
- Sep 2025 — Series D: US$200M, valuing the company at More than US$1B.
- Jun 2026 — Growth funding (described as Series E by counsel): More than US$200M, valuing the company at US$2.3B. Investors: Glade Brook Capital Partners (lead); Washington Harbour Partners (co-lead).
- June 2026 — Total funding: More than US$700 million (as reported).
Investors
Overview
Apex builds satellite buses, the standardised platforms that provide power, propulsion, communications and control for satellites, so that customers can focus on their payloads. Its approach is to treat satellites more like manufactured products than one-off projects: a small number of standard designs built at high rates, delivered in months rather than years. Demand comes from proliferated constellations, networks of many satellites used by defense agencies and commercial operators. In June 2026 Apex raised more than US$200 million at a US$2.3 billion valuation, nearly doubling its value months after passing US$1 billion.
Ian Cinnamon, the CEO, and Max Benassi founded Apex in 2022 in Los Angeles. Benassi previously worked on satellite programmes at SpaceX. The founders saw that while launch had become cheap and frequent, buying a satellite bus still often took years and custom engineering, slowing down companies and agencies that wanted to deploy satellites quickly.
Products
- Aries: Apex's first standard satellite bus for small satellite missions.
- Larger platforms: additional buses for heavier payloads and higher power needs.
- Manufacturing campus: high-rate production facilities in the Los Angeles area, which the new funding is intended to expand.
- Integration services: support for integrating customer payloads and preparing satellites for launch.
Funding
Apex raised early funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and XYZ Venture Capital. It announced a US$200 million Series C in April 2025 and a US$200 million Series D in September 2025 at a valuation of more than US$1 billion. In June 2026 it announced more than US$200 million at a US$2.3 billion valuation, led by Glade Brook Capital Partners and co-led by Washington Harbour Partners. The CEO described it as taking on additional capital in response to investor demand rather than a formal round, while the company's legal counsel described it as a Series E. Reports put total funding at more than US$700 million.
Business model
Apex sells satellite buses to commercial companies, startups, research organisations and government agencies, with pricing per bus plus integration services. Standard designs and volume production are intended to reduce cost per unit and delivery times. Funding ahead of demand lets Apex build inventory, so customers can receive buses faster.
Competition
Apex competes with other bus manufacturers including York Space Systems, Terran Orbital (now part of Lockheed Martin), Blue Canyon Technologies (Raytheon), Airbus, and newer entrants such as K2 Space, which focuses on larger platforms. Many large constellation operators, such as SpaceX, build their own buses. Apex differentiates on speed, standardisation and production capacity.
Apex at a glance
Apex is a Los Angeles satellite bus manufacturer founded in 2022 by Ian Cinnamon and Max Benassi. It builds standardised spacecraft platforms at high rates for defense and commercial constellations. It raised more than US$200 million at a US$2.3 billion valuation in June 2026, led by Glade Brook Capital Partners.
Timeline
- 2022: founded in Los Angeles.
- 2024: first Aries mission launched.
- April 2025: raises a US$200 million Series C.
- September 2025: raises US$200 million at more than US$1 billion.
- June 2026: raises more than US$200 million at US$2.3 billion.
Why satellite buses became a bottleneck
New space companies often have a great sensor or communications payload but don't want to design an entire spacecraft around it. Traditional bus suppliers build to order, with long lead times and high costs, because they serve a small number of large, expensive missions. Proliferated constellations change the economics: customers want dozens or hundreds of satellites quickly. A company that can deliver standardised buses from stock removes a major bottleneck and lets customers move faster.
Defense demand
The US Space Development Agency and other defense organisations are building constellations of many smaller satellites for tracking and communications, which require reliable suppliers of buses. Investors such as Washington Harbour Partners focus on national security technology, and defense contracts are an important part of Apex's market.
Who uses Apex
Apex's customers include defense agencies, defense contractors, satellite startups, Earth observation and communications companies and research organisations.
Valuation context
Apex's valuation roughly doubled in about nine months, part of a broader rise in space manufacturing valuations driven by defense spending. Our guide to space startups compares related companies.
Risks
- Manufacturing scale: high-rate production is hard to achieve reliably.
- Competition: incumbents and startups are expanding bus production.
- Customer concentration: large defense programmes may dominate demand.
- Supply chains: components such as solar arrays and electronics can constrain output.
Questions for customers
- What lead time and price apply to a standard bus?
- What flight heritage does the platform have?
- How much customisation is possible without delays?
How a satellite bus works
A satellite has two main parts. The payload is what the customer actually wants in orbit: a camera, a radar, a radio for communications or a scientific instrument. The bus is everything else needed to keep that payload working: solar panels and batteries for power, a computer for control, radios for talking to the ground, thrusters for changing orbit, and sensors and reaction wheels for pointing in the right direction. Designing a reliable bus takes years of engineering and testing. When a supplier offers a proven bus off the shelf, a customer can focus on its payload and mission, shortening development by years. That is why bus manufacturers have become strategic suppliers in the new space economy, and why investors see companies like Apex as infrastructure for many other space businesses.
Standardisation also helps reliability. When the same bus design flies many times, problems are found and fixed, and each subsequent satellite benefits. Defense customers, in particular, value platforms with flight heritage because mission failures can have strategic consequences.
Latest developments (October 2026)
Apex's June 2026 round of more than US$200 million at a US$2.3 billion valuation was led by Glade Brook Capital Partners, with Washington Harbour Partners co-leading, according to Los Angeles Business Journal and the company's legal adviser. It was Apex's third roughly US$200 million raise in about 14 months, taking total funding above US$700 million. Apex also appointed Michael Kopet as chief financial officer and announced work with Northrop Grumman on space-based interceptor satellites linked to the US Golden Dome missile-defence programme.
What to watch
Watch production rates, defense contracts, mission results and further funding.
Takeaways
Satellite builders can buy standard platforms faster. Founders can see how productising a bottleneck creates a business. Investors should watch delivery rates and mission success.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does Apex do?
Apex is a space / satellite manufacturing company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was founded in 2022.
What is Apex's valuation?
Apex was valued at US$2.3 billion as of June 2026, according to Via Satellite. Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does Apex make?
Apex is a private company and has not publicly disclosed its revenue. Figures on third-party sites are usually modelled estimates rather than numbers reported by the company.
What was Apex's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a growth funding (described as series e by counsel) in Jun 2026: More than US$200M, at a valuation of US$2.3B. Source: Greenberg Traurig.
Who are Apex's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include Glade Brook Capital Partners, Washington Harbour Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and XYZ Venture Capital.
Who founded Apex?
Apex was founded in 2022 by Ian Cinnamon (CEO) and Max Benassi.
Is Apex a public company?
No. Apex is a private company (private, venture backed), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is Apex headquartered?
Apex is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.