We offer our view of Axiom Space because it is part of the total ARK Venture Fund portfolio. To see the most updated portfolio, please click here.
Axiom Space is a space infrastructure company currently operating missions to the International Space Station (ISS). The company also develops space suits, as well as the space infrastructure necessary for research activities and manufacturing, and plans to operate human spaceflight for government-funded and commercial in-space research, in-space manufacturing, and space exploration.
ARK believes Axiom Space is well positioned to be a leader in human space travel, especially to the ISS, given their current operating schedule and the potential for decreasing costs in space travel.
Metrics that would indicate the success of our long-term thesis include continued missions, increased spacesuit deliveries, additional modules attached to the ISS, and new partnerships with countries and companies seeking to access the new commercial space station.
Axiom’s CEO, Michael Suffredini, comes from a decorated 30-year career at NASA, where he served as International Space Station Program Manager from 2005 to 2015 and oversaw the development and operation of the 460-metric ton, permanently inhabited international orbiting laboratory. Suffredini held several ISS Program roles and was Assistant Manager of the Space Shuttle Program. He also led the 15-nation ISS Program—the largest international peacetime project in human history—through its transition from assembly to research and commercial utilization. Overall, the Axiom team has a deep bench of expertise in the execution of projects in space.
Activities in space have inherent execution risks, particularly those associated with building and deploying new modules to the ISS. Geopolitical dynamics also could affect countries’ willingness to participate in commercial space station innovation. Competing space stations could reduce the overall opportunity, and there is no guarantee that in-space manufacturing/pharmaceutical experiments will yield the desired outcomes.
Disclosures
We offer our view of Axiom Space because it is part of the total ARK Venture Fund portfolio. To see the most updated portfolio, please click here. Holdings subject to change. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any specific security.
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