Samara Aerospace Closes $10M Oversubscribed Seed Round to Accelerate Spacecraft Production and Launch Hummingbird-1 Mission

Pre-empted Seed round led by Balerion Space Ventures follows rapid flight execution and growing government and commercial demand

San Francisco, CA – January 20, 2026 – Samara Aerospace today announced the close of its $10 million Seed round, oversubscribed from an $8 million target, following strong inbound investor demand. The round was pre-empted, reflecting early conviction in Samara’s ability to execute at speed and scale. Balerion Space Ventures led the round, with participation from new and existing investors, including Illinois Ventures, MFV Partners, Access Venture Partners, and others.

Investor interest accelerated after Samara demonstrated an uncommon level of execution for a pre-seed company. With a team of just seven, Samara built, tested, delivered, and integrated a payload ready for orbit in four months, proving its ability to move from concept to flight-ready hardware on timelines typically reserved for far more mature organizations.

“This round is a direct result of execution,” said Patrick Haddox, CEO at Samara Aerospace. “We showed that a small, focused team can deliver flight-ready systems quickly and reliably, and investors responded.”

The Seed funding will allow Samara to rapidly scale operations within its new 11,200-square-foot production facility, adding staff and equipment to increase manufacturing capacity and shorten delivery timelines for future missions.

The round builds on significant recent non-dilutive momentum, including a SpaceWERX $4M Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) award and a NASA Phase I contract. Together, this capital enables Samara to double its team size, upgrade its production line, and prepare for the launch of its first mission, Hummingbird-1, in 2027.

As part of this next phase, Hummingbird-1 is now accepting applications for hosted payload opportunities, offering government and commercial customers a rapid path to orbit on a high-performance, mission-ready spacecraft platform.

"Balerion is thrilled to lead Samara Aerospace's round and join the board. A dragon backing a hummingbird, forging the next great San Francisco space company together." Phil Scully, Balerion Space Ventures.

With capital in place, flight heritage established, and demand accelerating, Samara Aerospace is entering its next chapter focused on scaling production and delivering operational spacecraft at speed.