Varda Announces $251 Million Series D to Scale Space-Based Pharmaceutical Processing

The company will scale toward producing the first pharmaceuticals made in space for patients on Earth.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Varda Space Industries announced a Series D fundraising round today, bringing the total amount of capital raised by the microgravity-enabled life sciences company to $598 million. The $251 million fundraise was led by Lux Capital and Natural Capital, with participation from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, 8090 Industries, Giant Step, and Also Capital.

The first product made in space for use on Earth will be a pharmaceutical. Due to the absence of gravity, materials such as the active pharmaceutical ingredients in medicines can be crystallized in ways that would be impossible on Earth, enabling novel drug formulations that can benefit patients.

The company is transforming in-space pharmaceutical processing to be a normal, reliable part of the drug development pipeline.

"In-space manufacturing means building what space needs, in space, and making what Earth can't. Varda is making life-saving drugs impossible to make under gravity. It's the first and only company delivering a real cadence of launches and re-entries, with capsules built to manufacture the impossible and return it home," said Shahin Farshchi, Partner at Lux Capital.

Building Toward the First Medicine Made in Space

Decades of ISS research have demonstrated microgravity's potential to produce drug formulations that are impossible to achieve on Earth, and Varda is now the only company with the launch cadence, reentry capability, and pharmaceutical science team to bring that potential to market.

"We started Varda with the conviction that the first product manufactured in space and consumed on Earth would be a pharmaceutical," said Varda co-founder and President Delian Asparouhov. "This round gives us the resources to increase our cadence, deepen our pharmaceutical partnerships, get closer to delivering the first medicine made in space."

Since its first mission launched in 2023, Varda has rapidly increased its flight cadence, completing six successful reentry missions with over a dozen more launches and reentries planned through 2028. Varda's W-Series vehicles, which reach Mach 25 on their reentry from orbit, offer government and commercial partners a reliable, repeatable, and economical way to return materials and data from space to Earth.

As launch cadence across the industry continues to increase, the ability to bring things back will become as foundational as the ability to send them up.

About Varda

Varda Space Industries is building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical hypersonic reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space and has office space in Washington, D.C. and Huntsville, Alabama. Follow Varda on X (@vardaspace), Instagram (@vardaspaceindustries), and LinkedIn.

Alex Pearlman, Head of Communications and Marketing: [email protected]

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SOURCE Varda Space Industries Inc.