Space sector eyes further investment growth in 2026 after record year

The Artemis II rocket makes its way from the Vehicle Assembly Building to pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Global investment in space technology is poised to climb further in 2026, propelled by government spending on defense-linked satellite systems and private sector bets on launch capacity, investment firm Seraphim Space said on Monday.

Space infrastructure is being increasingly viewed as a strategic national priority, with countries competing for investments to secure a geopolitical advantage.

Investors expect the funding momentum to be driven by spending on sovereign satellite and missile-defense systems, integration of AI into space hardware and analytics, and the prospect of a SpaceX IPO, Seraphim Space said.

“A potential SpaceX IPO could act as a powerful catalyst, further validating SpaceTech as a mainstream asset class and opening a clearer path to IPOs for a growing cohort of late-stage SpaceTech companies,” said Lucas Bishop, investment analyst at Seraphim Space.

Investments in the sector hit record levels in 2025, with private investment growing 48 per cent to US$12.4 billion, including $3.8 billion in the final quarter, according to data from Seraphim Space.

Funding surpassed the previous peak set in 2021 and marked a full recovery from the sector’s 2022 downturn, outperforming the broader venture capital market.

The U.S. dominated investment last year with $7.3 billion, or about 60 per cent of global funding, driven by heavy spending on launch services and defense-related programs such as the Pentagon’s Golden Dome initiative.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December designating space as a core national security and economic priority, a move investors expect to lift funding for the sector.

The sector saw more modest growth in Europe, while investments in Asia remained elevated, with China contributing roughly $2 billion as it accelerated domestic launch and satellite manufacturing.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)