Sophia Space Raises $10M Seed Round

Sophia Space has closed a $10 million seed round to advance its vision of moving data center infrastructure from Earth into orbit. The funding marks a significant step for the Pasadena-based startup, which is developing modular computing systems designed to operate in low Earth orbit.

From Slideware to Hardware

The round was led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund, and Unlock Venture Partners, building on $3.5 million in pre-seed funding raised in 2025.

The new funding will support continued hiring, further maturation of the company's core TILE platform, and the formation of strategic partnerships across the orbital computing ecosystem.

How It Works

At the heart of Sophia Space's approach is the Tile - a compute module measuring one meter by one meter by just one centimeter. Each Tile contains servers arranged in an array optimized for two things traditional data centers struggle with in space - solar power generation and passive cooling.

Computing in orbit presents a fundamental thermal challenge. While space is cold, there is no airflow, meaning the only way to dissipate heat is through radiation. Sophia Space's design addresses this by using the vacuum of space itself as a cooling mechanism, radiating waste heat directly into the surrounding environment.

Multiple Tiles can be connected into racks, providing scalable computing power in sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. The modular design means customers can start with individual Tiles for edge computing needs and scale up over time.

The Road Ahead

Sophia Space was founded in 2023 by Leon Alkalai, a retired fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who serves as the company's chief technology officer and executive board chairman. The leadership team also includes CEO Rob DeMillo, a veteran founder and technologist, and Chief Growth Officer Brian Monnin, who previously held roles at Intel and Microsoft.

The company plans to finalize Tile designs and produce demonstration units for environmental testing in the near term. Individual Tiles will be available for customers seeking space-based edge computing capabilities, while the longer-term goal targets first operational orbital data center deployment in the 2030s.

As demand for AI computing infrastructure continues to surge on the ground, Sophia Space is betting that orbit offers a compelling alternative - one with virtually unlimited solar power and free cooling that no terrestrial facility can match.