Accion Systems, a space-technology startup led by MIT graduates, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The news was reported by TechCrunch. The lead investor is Shasta Ventures, with RRE Ventures, Founder Collective, and Slow Ventures also participating in the round, according to the report.
Accion had previously raised seed money from investors including TechU Angels.
The company has developed a miniature space propulsion system for small satellites. It may sound like a niche application, but small satellites are a multibillion-dollar annual market and growing. Whether a company with new technology can compete in that market remains to be seen. Accion says its propulsion system is more efficient and lower-cost than existing technologies.
Accion has been around since late 2012 (in concept at least) and has been garnering increasing interest from investors and customers over the past year. The company is led by Natalya Brikner (pictured) and Louis Perna, who met during their graduate work in the Space Propulsion Lab at MIT.
Brikner is slated to speak at an Xconomy conference in Boston on June 22.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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