Capella (Space)

San Francisco, California, USA Aerospace & Defense Acquired

Capella Space is a commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operator providing high-resolution, all-weather earth observation imagery and intelligence. The company operates a constellation of X-band SAR satellites for government, commercial, and international applications, with sub-0.25m resolution imagery accessible day or night regardless of weather conditions. Founded by Payam Banazadeh in 2016, Capella delivers rapid tasking and near-real-time satellite data through automated platforms.

Acquired

Capella (Space) has been acquired

Acquired by IonQ Jul 15, 2025

This company is no longer available on our private secondary market.

Overview

Company data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.

Founded

2016

Employees

200–250

Total Funding

$508.8M

5 rounds

Latest Valuation

$0.32B

Jul 15, 2025

Funding

Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.

Total raised $508.8M across 5 rounds

Last updated 06-25-2026

DateRoundAmount RaisedValuationLead Investors
Jul 15, 2025 Acquisition by IonQ $318M $0.32B IonQ
Jan 10, 2023 Series C Extension (Growth) $60M United States Innovative Technology Fund
Apr 2022 Series C Press release $97M NightDragon

Valuation Trajectory

Funding data and valuation marks are estimates and may be incomplete, stale, erroneous, or revised.

$50M $100M $200M 2018 2020 2022 2024 Capella (Space)

Entry · Series A

$44M

Jan 2017

Capella (Space) today

$318M

Jul 2025 · latest mark

Capella (Space) multiple

7.3x

valuation uplift since first round

Y-axis is logarithmic. Hollow dots = estimated valuations. Does not represent realized investor returns.

Leadership

  • Frank Backes

    Chief Executive Officer

    LinkedIn
  • Payam Banazadeh

    Founder & Board Director

    LinkedIn

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