Stoke Space eyes 500M valuing its fully reusable Nova rocket startup at nearly 2 billion

US-based rocket maker Stoke Space is reportedly preparing for a new funding round that could bring in as much as $500 million. This round is said to push its valuation close to $2 billion, which is double its previous valuation of nearly $944 million. The round is said to be led by Thomas Tull’s United States Innovative Technology Fund (USIT).
The company has already raised nearly $500 million from high-profile investors such asBill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Industrious Ventures, andY Combinator. Earlier this year, itclosed a $260 million Series C round.
With this funding, the company will focus on it’s ambitious goal of creating a fully reusable, two-stage rocket called Nova. It is designed to make launching satellites and other payloads to orbit faster, cheaper, and more sustainable.
Founded in 2019 byAndy LapsaandTom Feldman, two former Blue Origin engineers, Stoke Space is on a mission to redefine space launch economics. By focusing on medium-lift rockets, capable of sending 2 to 20 tons to low Earth orbit, Stoke aims to carve out a niche between smaller launchers like Rocket Lab’s Electron and heavy-lift systems such as SpaceX’s Starship.
There is plenty of room in the market for efficient, fully reusable launch vehicles that meet the growing demand for satellite deployments and in-space logistics.
At the heart of Stoke’s strategy is complete reusability that only SpaceX has come close to achieving. Stoke’s engineers have spent the past few years testing innovative systems, including a liquid-cooled heat shield for Nova’s upper stage. This technology allows the rocket to withstand extreme re-entry temperatures, potentially enabling the entire vehicle to be reused, a major leap from the industry standard of discarding upper stages after each flight.
In 2022, the company completed short-hop tests of a prototype upper stage, validating key components of its design. Meanwhile, the first-stage booster is nearing completion, setting the stage for Nova’s first test flight next year. The upcoming funding round is expected to support multiple launch attempts, a critical step toward proving full reusability.
Stoke has been methodically building out its physical footprint to match its ambitions. The company operates a 168,000-square-foot headquarters in Kent, Washington, just a few miles from Blue Origin’s base. It also runs a 75-acre test facility in Moses Lake, where engines and propulsion systems undergo rigorous trials.
On the East Coast, Stoke is constructing a launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida, a location steeped in American space history, famously where John Glenn orbited Earth in 1962. This strategic expansion will allow the company to integrate manufacturing, testing, and launching capabilities, mirroring the vertically integrated model that has fueled SpaceX’s success.
Even before reaching orbit, Stoke has already caught the attention of key government stakeholders. In March 2025, it was added to the U.S. Space Force’s roster of approved launch providers, a success for a startup still in pre-launch stages.