Photo: SpiderOak

Space cybersecurity firm SpiderOak has raised $16.4 million in a Series C round led by Empyrean Technology Solutions. The lead investor is a space technology platform backed by funds affiliated with private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners. The oversubscribed round included additional investment from Method Capital, and OCA Ventures.

SpiderOak offers OrbitSecure, a zero-trust cybersecurity product for space missions that uses a decentralized key management system. The company recently announced a contract with the U.S Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to demonstrate OrbitSecure’s zero-trust protocol on-orbit 

The company said this funding will enable on-orbit testing and flight heritage for OrbitSecure 2.0. The company plans to establish its headquarters in Reston, Virginia, and build out its Mission Systems program and engineering teams. SpiderOak also has plans to build a space cybersecurity laboratory for hardware in the loop qualification testing. 

“SpiderOak brings a wealth of industry experience in cybersecurity solutions to national security, an area we are already heavily invested in,” said Matt Norton, managing director and head of MDP’s Business & Government Software and Services team. “Their proven track record in developing commercial zero-trust technology is backed by a substantial patent portfolio. Their successful demonstrations of OrbitSecure make them the clear new leader in the space cybersecurity arena.”