FUSE backs Pluto Aerospace in eighth space bet

What's the deal? FUSEDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has led a seed round for Pluto AerospaceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Indiana-based reusable launch company, the venture firm's eighth space investment. Pluto is working to give the industry faster access to components and hypersonics flight time for rapid testing and iteration.

Why now? Founded in 2020 to bring Bay Area venture experience to Seattle software firms, FUSE was soon fielding weekly pitches from space companies. It made its first space bet in January 2024, leading Quindar's $6 million seed round.

What's the endgame? FUSE has now invested a combined $45 million-plus across eight space companies, with 25% of its overall portfolio going to space, robotics, and data centre infrastructure. Founding partner Brendan Wales leads the effort; cofounder Cameron Borumand led the Pluto deal.

The playbook: FUSE builds a connected portfolio where companies feed each other business. "It's like a VC version of a private equity play," said Mantis Space SystemsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → chief executive Eric Truitt, whose power-beaming startup joined recently.

Those ties are already forming. Portal Space Systems is in talks with Starcloud on defending orbital data centre infrastructure, working with Icarus RoboticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → on a robotic effector, and partnering with Quindar on ground mission support.

"A space company that's just starting up now has access to a whole ecosystem in FUSE to help them accelerate faster," said Portal chief executive Jeff Thornburg.

The signal: A software-focused firm has reshaped a quarter of its portfolio around space and infrastructure in under three years. FUSE is betting that a tightly linked group of startups — buses, compute, power-beaming — can grow faster together than apart.

Read more: payloadspace.com

Image credit: aeroman3