Charter Space raises $5 million seed round for space insurance
- Charter Space has raised a $5 million seed round to expand its space insurance brokerage, bringing its total funding to $8 million.
- The El Segundo, California-based startup launched its nationally licensed insurance brokerage in May and already services over 50 companies across the United States space and defense industrial base.
- Insuring objects that go to space remains a rare practice largely because of the high cost of underwriting assets like satellites.
Charter Space has raised a $5 million seed round to expand its space insurance brokerage, bringing its total funding to $8 million. Crystal Venture Partners led the round, with participation from fintech investors QED and Blank Ventures, early-stage venture firm Hustle Fund, and Gaingels.
Funding Details and Current Operations
The El Segundo, California-based startup launched its nationally licensed insurance brokerage in May and already services over 50 companies across the United States space and defense industrial base. The company plans to use the proceeds from the new seed round to grow its sales organization and expand its insurance offerings. Additional products on the table include coverage for novel mission concepts such as space-based nuclear power, lunar missions, and in-space servicing of other spacecraft.
Bridging the Gap Between Aerospace Data and Underwriting
Insuring objects that go to space remains a rare practice largely because of the high cost of underwriting assets like satellites. Founder and CEO Yuk Chi Chan originally started the company with co-founder Yukun Yin to build centralized software for aerospace engineering that would bring together technical, manufacturing, and test data for customers. Chan later realized the potential value of plugging that data directly into the underwriting process.
Market Growth and Industry Context
Space companies historically faced limited financial service options because the industry was dominated by governments and defense contractors who moved conservatively after the Cold War. However, the commercial space boom over the last decade, driven largely by SpaceX lowering launch costs with the Falcon 9 rocket, created sufficient demand for startups like Charter Space to build and scale.
