An aerospace company developing a fully and rapidly reusable rocket, Nova, to provide low-cost, high-frequency access to orbit.
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Reusable-rocket company; earlier rounds (Series A-D, totaling ~$1.3B) never disclosed post-money valuations and are omitted here rather than guessed. Stoke has not yet reached orbit -- the $10B valuation is a big bet on execution ahead of first launch, a high-risk, pre-revenue-at-scale position. Multiple sources describe the Sept 2026 raise as an 'initial closing' of the Series E, not a final one -- Stoke used the same pattern with its Series D, later extended via a separate announcement. Worth re-checking for a 'Series E extension' in a future refresh.
Low: Revelio Labs, Mar 2026. High: Tracxn, Aug 2026.
As of 2026-09-13 · live via greenhouse's public job board · ≈16.9% of the 396–432 estimated team
+4 more roles across 3 other teams.
See all open roles at Stoke Space →Stoke Space is developing Nova, a two-stage launch vehicle with both stages designed to land and fly again. The second stage's base is a metallic heat shield cooled by circulating liquid hydrogen, with a ring of small thrust chambers set into it. Nova has not flown; its first launch was targeted for early 2027 as of September 2026.
| Date | Type | What |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 2026 | Milestone | Stoke announced Nova Block 2, with 14 Zenith engines and a 5 m fairing, targeted for 2029; Nova's first launch was targeted for early 2027 |
| Aug 19, 2026 | Milestone | NASASpaceFlight reported three flight Zenith engines had been built and a second-stage stack mated for fit checks |
| Jun 8, 2026 | Milestone | Stoke said the first stage had completed proto-qualification |
| Dec 30, 2025 | Milestone | US 12,510,337 granted: heat shield whose absorbed heat drives the turbine powering the coolant pump |
| Mar 27, 2025 | Milestone | Space Systems Command added Stoke to the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract |
| Feb 13, 2025 | Milestone | Andromeda 2 announced, with 24 larger thrusters instead of 30 |
| Sep 10, 2024 | Milestone | US 12,085,044 granted: aerospike nozzle defining an actively cooled heat shield |
| Jun 5, 2024 | Milestone | First hot fire, about two seconds, of the first-stage full-flow staged-combustion LNG/oxygen engine since named Zenith |
| Sep 17, 2023 | Milestone | Hopper2, a full-diameter second-stage prototype with a ring of 30 thrusters, flew for 15 seconds to about 9 m at Moses Lake, Washington |
| Mar 7, 2023 | Milestone | Stoke announced that Space Launch Delta 45 had allocated it Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14 |
| Oct 14, 2022 | Patent filed | US 12,361,356 System for managing resources and scheduling, and related method and software |
| Apr 29, 2022 | Patent filed | US 12,601,449 Methods for assembling a multi-conic preform and manufacturing a semi-ellipsoidal shell using the multi-conic preform |
| Apr 13, 2021 | Patent filed | US 12,435,684 Atmospheric re-entry vehicle with skewed base heat shield |
| Dec 3, 2019 | Patent filed | US 12,510,337 Actively-cooled heat shield system and vehicle including the same |
| Nov 27, 2019 | Milestone | Priority date of the patent family on an aerospike nozzle defining an actively cooled heat shield; a second family followed on December 3 |
| Nov 27, 2019 | Patent filed | US 12,085,044 Upper stage rocket including aerospike nozzle defining actively-cooled re-entry heat shield |
| 2019 | Milestone | Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman left Blue Origin to start Stoke; Reuters dates the company's founding to 2020 |
Patents. The two founding patent families cover an aerospike nozzle defining an actively cooled heat shield and a heat shield whose absorbed heat drives the coolant pump turbine; other grants cover a skewed base heat shield, a welded shell-forming method and scheduling software.
No acquisitions on record.
Stoke Space Technologies, Inc. of Kent, Washington was started by Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman, who left Blue Origin in 2019; Reuters dates the company's founding to 2020. Its program is Nova, a two-stage launch vehicle with both stages designed to land and fly again. On the second stage, instead of tiles or ablative material, its base is a metallic heat shield with internal channels through which liquid hydrogen propellant is circulated during re-entry, and the stage's hydrogen-oxygen engine, Andromeda, is a ring of small thrust chambers set into that shield. The two founding patent families have priority dates of November 27, 2019 (aerospike nozzle defining an actively cooled heat shield, US 12,085,044, granted September 10, 2024) and December 3, 2019 (heat shield whose absorbed heat drives the turbine powering the coolant pump, US 12,510,337, granted December 30, 2025).
Stoke announced on March 7, 2023 that Space Launch Delta 45 had allocated it Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 14. On September 17, 2023 the Hopper2 prototype, a full-diameter second stage whose hydrogen-oxygen engine had a ring of 30 thrusters, flew for 15 seconds to about 9 m at Moses Lake, Washington. On June 5, 2024 the first-stage engine, a full-flow staged-combustion LNG/oxygen engine since named Zenith and designed for over 100,000 lbf, ran a first hot fire of about two seconds. Andromeda 2, with 24 larger thrusters instead of 30, was announced February 13, 2025. On March 27, 2025 Space Systems Command added Stoke to the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract with a $5 million task order; it may compete for launch orders after a first successful launch. Stoke said on June 8, 2026 that the first stage had completed proto-qualification; NASASpaceFlight reported on August 19, 2026 that three flight Zenith engines had been built and a second-stage stack mated for fit checks.
Nova Pathfinder, the initial vehicle, uses seven Zenith engines producing 3,110 kN at liftoff; the company states about 3,000 kg to low Earth orbit with both stages recovered and 7,000 kg with the second stage expended. Nova has not flown. Its first launch, carrying an AstroForge spacecraft, was targeted for early 2027 as of September 8, 2026; the target reported in June 2026 was the end of 2026. On September 8, 2026 Stoke announced Nova Block 2, with 14 Zenith engines, a 5 m fairing and a stated 15 metric tons to LEO, targeted for 2029, alongside a roughly $1 billion Series E co-led by Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital. The company said the round brought total capital raised to $2.3 billion.
Other granted US patents cover a skewed base heat shield for a re-entry vehicle (US 12,435,684, October 7, 2025), assembling a multi-conic welded preform and forming it into a semi-ellipsoidal shell (US 12,601,449, April 14, 2026), and resource-management and scheduling software (US 12,361,356, July 15, 2025). Google Patents records a June 2025 security interest in the listed patents in favor of First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company. No papers by company authors and no acquisitions were found.
Profile as of Sep 19, 2026.
| Round | Date | Valuation | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series E | 2026-09-08 | $10.0B | Point72 Ventures and Spark Capital (co-led) |
| Undisclosed round (SEC Form D) | 2026-02-06 | — | Not disclosed -- SEC Form D lists only the company's own officers/directors, not the investor(s) |
| Undisclosed round (SEC Form D) | 2025-09-23 | — | Not disclosed -- SEC Form D lists only the company's own officers/directors, not the investor(s) |
| Undisclosed round (SEC Form D) | 2024-12-09 | — | Not disclosed -- SEC Form D lists only the company's own officers/directors, not the investor(s) |
| Undisclosed round (SEC Form D) | 2023-09-15 | — | Not disclosed -- SEC Form D lists only the company's own officers/directors, not the investor(s) |
| Undisclosed round (SEC Form D) | 2021-11-30 | — | Not disclosed -- SEC Form D lists only the company's own officers/directors, not the investor(s) |
| Undisclosed round (SEC Form D) | 2020-12-21 | — | Not disclosed -- SEC Form D lists only the company's own officers/directors, not the investor(s) |
No upcoming rounds currently reported.
| Status | S-1 Not Filed |
|---|---|
| Notes | Too early-stage -- the company hasn't reached orbit yet. Only speculative opinion commentary exists (e.g. a Motley Fool 'prediction' piece). |
| Source | Forge Global / EquityZen / Nasdaq Private Market commentary, 2026 (secondary-market speculation, not company guidance) |
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