About AXIAL Partners
AXIAL Partners is a venture capital firm founded in 2019. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Jan 2025, AXIAL Partners has invested in 10 companies. It primarily invests in Series C round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from High Tech to Enterprise Applications and Auto Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series C round of Loft Orbital Overall, AXIAL Partners portfolio has seen 5 unicorns and 1 IPO including key companies like Infleqtion, Lightmatter and Loft Orbital. A lot of funds co-invest with AXIAL Partners, with names like Glynn Capital sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio.Key Metrics
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series C & Series D
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
AXIAL Partners' List of Top Investments
AXIAL Partners has a portfolio of 10 companies, including 5 unicorns. Their most notable investmentis in Loft OrbitalTheir portfolio spans across and United States. They have invested in High Tech, Enterprise Applications, Auto Tech and 7 other sectors, across stages such as Series C, Series D stages. Here is the list of top investments by AXIAL Partners:
1. Infleqtion
Provider of neutral-atom quantum technology, products and solutions. The company specializing in neutral-atom quantum computing, precision quantum sensing, and quantum software. They are focused on driving the industry forward and building an ecosystem of quantum technologies. It is used for defense and national security, space, telecommunications, scientific research and enterprise computing.
Key facts about Infleqtion
- Founded Year: 2007
- Location: Louisville (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $311M
- Employee Count: 218 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Glynn Capital, Maverick Ventures and 31 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Mar 11, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Lightmatter
Developer of photonic interconnects and co-packaged optics for AI infrastructure. The company’s technology addresses data center bottlenecks by connecting XPUs and switches. It offers solutions with lane speeds from 56G NRZ to 448G PAM4, bidirectional or unidirectional, and up to 16 wavelengths. The company also promotes open standards to drive adoption of advanced optical interconnect technologies.
Key facts about Lightmatter
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Boston (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $850M
- Employee Count: 338 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price and 14 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Oct 11, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Loft Orbital
Provider of space mission launch services. It offers microsatellite launching services. It includes platform manufacturing and integration, standard interfaces installation, launch booking and integration, regulatory compliance and licensing, and insurance. It also provides commissioning and routine operations through its global ground station partners. Its satellite operation dashboard enables payload tasking and access to data in near-real-time.
Key facts about Loft Orbital
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $330M
- Employee Count: 336 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Temasek, Foundation Capital and 41 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jan 15, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Ayar Labs
Developer of optical interconnect solutions for artificial intelligence infrastructure applications. The company provides optical I/O chiplets and light sources for enhanced bandwidth and power efficiency. These solutions aim to improve the performance and scalability of AI and high-performance computing systems. The company's products are intended for use in data centers and other advanced technology applications.
Key facts about Ayar Labs
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: San Jose (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $872M
- Employee Count: 233 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Intel, Rising Tide Fund and 57 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Mar 03, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Developer of positioning, navigation, and timing infrastructure for connected systems. The company delivers a new layer of precision and resilience to power systems. It offers a software development kit designed for developers and compatible with receivers and chipsets. The company provides secure positioning for applications ranging from geospatial to IoT.
Key facts about Xona Space Systems
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Burlingame (United States)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $320M
- Employee Count: 136 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: MaC Venture Capital, Craft Ventures and 35 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Mar 24, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
AXIAL Partners' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
In 2025, it made 1 investment. Its most recent first time investment was in Loft Orbital.AXIAL Partners' Investments by Stage
AXIAL Partners has made 2 investments in Series C stage with an average round size of $135M and 1 investment in Series D stage with an average round size of $155M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series C | 2 |
Series D | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
AXIAL Partners' Investments by Sector
AXIAL Partners has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the High Tech, Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech and Semiconductors. Notably, it has invested in 10 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 10 Tech companies, 9 Tech hardware companies and at least 5 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
High Tech | 3 |
Aerospace, Maritime and Defense Tech | 1 |
Semiconductors | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
AXIAL Partners' Investments by Geography
AXIAL Partners has made most investments in United States (3).AXIAL Partners' recent investments
AXIAL Partners has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by AXIAL Partners:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 15, 2025 | United States | Series C | 9380 | [+9] | |
Dec 27, 2024 | United States | Series C | 9342 | [+15] | |
Dec 11, 2024 | United States | Series D | 6509 | [+15] |
Unicorns in AXIAL Partners' Portfolio
AXIAL Partners has 5 unicorns in its portfolio - Stoke, Loft Orbital, Ayar Labs and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Stoke. It became a unicorn in 2025.Here is a list of unicorns in AXIAL Partners' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
65 | Manufacturer of reusable launch vehicles | 2019 | Kent | Series D | eobvggf | ||
68 | Provider of space mission launch services | 2016 | San Francisco | Series C | abblsus | ||
66 | Developer of optical interconnect solutions for artificial intelligence infrastructure applications | 2015 | San Jose | Series E | gxovibo | ||
70 | Developer of photonic interconnects and co-packaged optics for AI infrastructure | 2017 | Boston | Series D | lodlyhz | ||
60 | Manufacturer of engineered materials from recycled lithium-ion batteries and battery scrap | 2015 | Westborough | Series D | uvzrzhb |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in AXIAL Partners' Portfolio
1 of AXIAL Partners' portfolio company became public - Infleqtion. It got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in Feb 2026 at marketcap of $2.39BHere are AXIAL Partners' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 17, 2026 | Dec 27, 2024 | Series C | 1165 |
Co-investors of AXIAL Partners
Over the past 2 years, 95 investors have co-invested in AXIAL Partners's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before AXIAL Partners: OSTI, Maverick Ventures and 60 others have invested in rounds before AXIAL Partners. There are 2 companies where OSTI has invested before AXIAL Partners and 1 company where Maverick Ventures has invested before AXIAL Partners.
- Top Co-investors of AXIAL Partners: 25 investors entered a company along with AXIAL Partners. These include investors like Glynn Capital (1 company).
- Invested after AXIAL Partners: A total of 8 investors have invested in AXIAL Partners's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Neuberger Berman (1 company), ARK Investment Management (1 company) and Insight Partners (1 company).
Recent News related to AXIAL Partners
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Loft Orbital: French space startup becomes unicorn with 170 million euro roundTrending Topics•Jan 15, 2025•Loft Orbital, Tikehau Capital, Axial Partners, Temasek and 6 others
