Articles about Stoke Space

What’s Howard’s end? Former Starbucks CEO is ripping Washington state again

For the second time in the past 60 days, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has penned an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal that takes direct aim at the state’s political leadership, calling Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson “inept” and noting that Gov. Bob Ferguson continues to “burden businesses with one tax increase after another.” Read More

Tech Moves: Seattle tech exec named Dropbox CPO; Xbox VP among layoffs; C-suite changes at T-Mobile

Past exec at Amazon, Microsoft and Google is now Dropbox’s first CPO; T-Mobile appoints a new C-suite leader and promotes another; and Xbox VP Kevin LaChapelle is laid off in Microsoft’s big round of layoffs. Read More

Blue Moon Mark 2 lander on lunar surface with astronauts and with crescent Earth in sky above

NASA backs dozens of projects on the space frontier, including some with Northwest connections

Space agency selects 37 companies as partners to develop technologies that will support moon bases and Mars exploration. Read More

GeekWire 200 update: New unicorns and a hardware surge remake our list of top Pacific NW startups

The latest GeekWire 200, our quarterly ranking of the top Pacific Northwest startups, reflects a shift toward companies building physical products — rockets, fusion reactors, robots and space-based data centers. Starcloud was the biggest mover, two new unicorns joined the list, and Helion held the No. 1 spot. Read More

Podcast

SpaceX IPO filing reveals Starlink’s impact, Bezos sounds off on CNBC, and Gemini owes John a beer

SpaceX’s IPO filing includes new details about the Starlink satellite factory in Redmond. Jeff Bezos talks wealth, inequality, and AI on CNBC. And John turns to ChatGPT and Gemini when FIFA’s ticketing support falls short. Read More

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s stake in Helion Energy draws scrutiny in Musk trial and on Capitol Hill

Sam Altman faced pointed questions about his financial ties to the Everett, Wash., fusion startup during testimony in the Musk v. Altman trial, as Congress separately raised conflict-of-interest concerns. Read More

Bigger checks, fewer bets: Seattle startup deal count drops to lowest level since 2020

The Seattle area ranked seventh in the U.S. by venture capital invested but 10th by deal count in the first quarter of 2026, as funding concentrated into fewer, larger rounds, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Read More

GeekWire Awards: From the farm to space, Next Tech Titan finalists growing to meet big challenges

This award takes notice of the next dominant force in Pacific Northwest tech, and the finalists are: Overland AI, Carbon Robotics, Stoke Space, Chainguard, and MotherDuck. Read More

Propellant tank stretching out on Stoke Space's factory floor

Stoke Space adds $350M to funding round as it gets ready for the first launch of its reusable rocket

Additional funding brings Seattle-area startup’s Series D financing to $860 million and total funds raised to $1.34 billion. Read More

Tech Moves: Nintex CEO to depart; Raikes Foundation names leader; Qualtrics exec now at Workday

Nintex CEO Amit Mathradas is set to depart for Five9; Raikes Foundation names a new leader; and a Qualtrics exec is now at Workday. Read More

OpenAI CEO reportedly turned to a Seattle startup in quest to challenge SpaceX on the space data frontier

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s interest in orbital data centers led him to look into investing in Stoke Space, according to The Wall Street Journal. Read More

New frontier for Seattle startups: Space, fusion, and battery companies buoy region’s VC activity

Companies developing rockets, fusion energy, and next-generation batteries account for a large share of total venture capital raised in the Seattle region over the past several months, according to GeekWire’s regularly updated fundings list. Read More

Illustration: Second stage of Stoke Space Nova rocket in orbit

Stoke Space raises a whopping $510M to accelerate work on its fully reusable Nova launch system

Stoke Space, one of the brightest stars of Seattle’s space industry, says its latest funding round has nearly doubled total capital raised. Read More

Stoke Space reportedly raising another massive round of funding for its Nova rocket program

The Seattle-area space venture will use the mega-funding round to get its fully reusable rocket off the ground, according to The Information. Read More

Illustration: Stoke Space Nova rocket ascending into orbit

Stoke Space and Rocket Lab join Space Force’s national security launch program

The U.S. Space Force has added Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space and California-based Rocket Lab USA to the list of providers… Read More

GeekWire Awards: Key acquisitions and big funding rounds lead Deal of the Year category

Three major acquisitions and two significant funding rounds make up the transactions featured in the Deal of the Year category… Read More

Stoke Space brings in $260M for further development of its fully reusable rocket

Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space says it’s raised $260 million in a new founding round to finish the development of its… Read More

Podcast

Insights from Uncommon Thinkers: How these innovators found novel approaches in their fields

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we sit down with some of the Seattle region’s “Uncommon Thinkers” — inventors, scientists,… Read More

Stoke Space hotfires rocket engine on new vertical test stand — a ‘very big deal’ for Washington startup

Stoke Space successfully hotfired its first-stage rocket engine on a new vertical test stand at the company’s Moses Lake, Wash., facility… Read More

Andy Lapsa in front of propellant tank at Stoke Space factory

Uncommon Thinkers: Stoke Space CEO Andy Lapsa explores an innovative route to rocket reusability

Editor’s note: This series profiles five of the Seattle region’s “Uncommon Thinkers”: inventors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs transforming industries and driving positive… Read More

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket and Stoke Space's Nova rocket. (Blue Origin / Stoke Space Illustrations)

Space Force clears Blue Origin and Stoke Space to bid for fast-turnaround launches

The U.S. Space Force has added Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and Stoke Space, a startup that’s headquartered nearby… Read More

Stoke Space scores a success in first test firing of engine for reusable Nova booster

Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space says it has successfully completed the first hot-fire test of the engine that will power the… Read More

Stoke Space fuels up with $100M in funding in quest to build fully reusable rockets

Stoke Space announced Thursday that it raised $100 million, boosting the Kent, Wash.-based company’s quest to develop a new breed… Read More

Stoke Space puts its test rocket through a successful hop in central Washington state

A four-year-old Seattle-area startup called Stoke Space executed a successful up-and-down test of its “Hopper” developmental rocket vehicle today, marking… Read More

Illustration: Stoke Space second stage in orbit

Godspeed, Stoke Space! Rocket startup gets John Glenn’s launch pad at the Cape

Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space says it’s won the go-ahead to take over the Florida launch complex where John Glenn began… Read More

Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy leads $65M funding round for Stoke Space’s reusable rockets

Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the multibillion-dollar clean-tech initiative created by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is leading a $65 million funding round… Read More

Stoke Space stakes its claim in the launch industry’s rush to fully reusable rockets

In just six months, Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space Technologies has turned a blank stretch of ground in Moses Lake, Wash.,… Read More

Stoke Space and Sequoia Scientific win NASA funding to advance tech innovations

Two Washington state companies have won grants of up to $750,000 each from NASA to take space-related technologies they’re already… Read More

Stoke Space raises $9.1 million to create a new breed of reusable upper-stage rockets

Stoke Space Technologies, the Renton, Wash.-based company founded by veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, has attracted $9.1… Read More

Relativity and Reach, Stoke and Starfish: Blue Origin veterans spark space startups

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture turned 20 years old this week — and although the privately held… Read More