Space Forge appoints new chairman as it gears up for Series B round – UKTN

Cardiff-based Space Forge has appointed a new chairman to help it accelerate growth and close a Series B funding round. 

Scott White’s appointment to lead Space Forge’s board of directors comes just several months after it closed a £22.6m Series A round investment round, the largest for a UK-based space tech firm. 

The company, founded in 2018 to turn space into a suitable environment for manufacturing semiconductors and advanced materials, recently sent its ForgeStar-1 in-space manufacturing satellite into orbit after the UK government granted its first-ever license for such an undertaking. 

Though this mission is still ongoing, Space Forge hopes that its success will pave the way for future missions showing that manufacturing advanced materials in space at a “sustained” rate and in a “scalable” manner is possible. And it’s already planning for them with the help of White’s vast industry experience. 

White, who has experience as an entrepreneur and a leader of deep technology companies, founded Pragmatic Semiconductor and led it for more than ten years. In that time, he helped the firm secure over $400m of funding to place it at the forefront of the flexible electronics industry. 

Besides Pragmatic Semiconductor, he also has experience across industries such as telecommunications, photonics, machine learning and advanced manufacturing. 

Alongside his new Space Forge role, he’s also the chairman of several other robotics, quantum computing and space technology companies. Additionally, he advises two VCS and sits on the UK Government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel.

Despite such a busy schedule, he’s prepared to put the work into helping Space Forge achieve its future ambitions.

He said: “Space Forge is unlocking a new era of materials production in orbit. By creating advanced semiconductors and substrates impossible to make on Earth, the company has the potential to transform industries worldwide.” 

“I’m excited to support the team in realising this vision, building on their strong foundations to make Space Forge a true global leader.”