How many space companies are there?
Space Bandits · 27 October 2026
In short
- Nobody publishes a complete worldwide count. The largest database we found, Space Capital's, covers more than 3,000 companies.
- About 200 space startups raise outside money in a year. BryceTech counted 208 in 2025, up from 124 in 2020.
- Countries count in different ways. The UK counted 1,907 space organisations. India has about 440 registered space startups, and China reports more than 600 commercial space companies.
- We count 13 companies founded since 2000 that have reached orbit on a rocket they built.
Nobody knows exactly. No agency or research firm keeps a census of every space company in the world. The counts that do exist each measure something different, so they disagree. Here are the ones we could check, what each one counts, and our own.
Worldwide counts
The largest database we found belongs to Space Capital, an investor that tracks money going into the space economy. It says its data is "manually curated from 3,000+ companies" (Space Capital). Its definition is wide. It sorts companies into three layers: infrastructure, distribution and applications. Its report for the third quarter of 2026 counts a wave of investment in defence companies, led by Helsing (Space Capital).
Most other counts measure something narrower: how many companies raised money in a given period.
- BryceTech counts only companies that "began as angel- and venture capital-backed startups" (BryceTech). It counted 208 of them raising money in 2025, across 235 deals (BryceTech). In 2020 it counted 124.
- Space Capital counted 129 companies raising money in the second quarter of 2026 (Space Capital) and 132 in the third (Space Capital). Many companies raise more than once a year, so the quarters can't be added up.
- Seraphim, a space investor, counts deals rather than companies. It counted 141 venture deals in the second quarter of 2026 (AIC).
So in a recent year, about 200 space startups raised outside money. More companies exist than that. Many never raise venture money, and many that once did have gone quiet.
Counts by country
Each country counts in its own way, so the numbers can't be added together.
| Country | Count | What it counts | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1,907 | Organisations or parts of them that do any space activity, including universities (UK Space Agency) | 2022/23 |
| India | About 440 | Space startups registered on a government portal (PIB) | August 2026 |
| China | More than 600 | Commercial space companies, from an industry report Xinhua did not name (China Daily) | January 2026 |
| Japan | Over 100 | Space startups, according to the SPACETIDE Foundation (New Zealand MFAT) | November 2024 |
India shows how much the definition matters. About 440 space startups are registered on the government's startup portal. IN-SPACe, the regulator, has authorised 52 non-government organisations to carry out space activities, and 18 of them are startups (PIB). IN-SPACe also says it has registered over 4,500 organisations (PIB). Those are three answers from one country.
We found no credible count for the United States or the European Union. Nobody counts how many countries have private space companies either. The Planetary Society says there are "up to around 80 space agencies worldwide", depending on how you count (Planetary Society). Our own directory has startups in 23 countries.
Rocket companies
Erik Kulu's NewSpace Index tracks small rockets, defined as ones that can carry up to 1,500 kg to a 700 km sun-synchronous orbit. In August 2025 it listed 216 projects (Kulu, IAC 2025):
- 17 were operational
- 67 were in development
- 20 were retired
- 112 were concepts, dormant or cancelled
The United States hosts 84 of the 216 and China hosts 21. Only about 16% have ever attempted an orbital launch.
Reaching orbit is the hard part. We count 13 companies founded since 2000 that have put a payload in orbit on a rocket they built:
| Company | Country | First reached orbit |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | United States | September 2008 |
| Rocket Lab | United States and New Zealand | January 2018 |
| i-Space | China | July 2019 |
| Galactic Energy | China | November 2020 |
| Virgin Orbit | United States | January 2021 |
| Astra | United States | November 2021 |
| Firefly Aerospace | United States | October 2022 |
| Space Pioneer | China | April 2023 |
| LandSpace | China | July 2023 |
| Orienspace | China | January 2024 |
| Blue Origin | United States | January 2025 |
| Skyroot Aerospace | India | July 2026 |
| Isar Aerospace | Germany | September 2026 |
Virgin Orbit has since gone bankrupt. It filed in April 2023 (Stars and Stripes).
The list leaves out older companies. Orbital Sciences, now part of Northrop Grumman, developed Pegasus, the first air-launched rocket to put satellites in orbit (Spaceflight Now). It also leaves out China's state-backed spin-offs. CAS Space, a commercial spin-off of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, flew its new Kinetica-2 rocket to orbit in March 2026 (Payload).
Plenty of companies have tried and not yet made it. Japan's Space One lost its rocket on its third flight in March 2026 (Payload). Gilmour Space's first Eris flew for only a few seconds in 2025 (SpaceNews).
Why the numbers disagree
- Deals are not companies. One company can close several rounds in a year, so a count of deals runs higher than a count of companies.
- Definitions stretch. Space Capital counts defence companies such as Helsing. The UK counts parts of big companies and universities. BryceTech counts only venture-backed startups.
- Registered is not active. India's three numbers range from 18 to over 4,500.
- Dead projects linger. More than half the rockets on Kulu's list are concepts, dormant or cancelled.
- Some commercial companies belong to the state. In China, spin-offs of state institutes fly next to private startups.
How we count
Our directory lists 216 space startups in 23 countries, picked by hand. Of those, 148 are active. 23 were acquired, 16 shut down, 15 are now publicly listed and 14 have gone quiet. The United States has 104 of them. The United Kingdom has 18, China 15, and India and Japan 13 each.
Every company and its record is on the directory and the space companies page. The full list is free to download as CSV and JSON on the data page.