Kapta Space, a radar technology startup based in Seattle, raised $5 million in a seed round led by MetaVC Partners.
The company, founded in 2023, is building low-cost, steerable radar sensor systems that will enable space missions for defense and commercial applications.
Kapta uses metamaterials for a new approach to electronically-steered radar antennas. The idea is to provide high-resolution, persistent geospatial imagery that’s cheaper and less complex than current satellite imaging solutions.
The company is focused on two initial use cases: geospatial imagery and ground target tracking modalities for defense missions.
Kapta is already working with the Department of Defense and landed a $1.8 million grant from the DoD in 2023.
Kapta is led by CEO Milton Perque, who co-founded the company with Adam Bily. Both were engineering leaders at Seattle-area startup Echodyne.
Perque also spent time at Metacept and Intellectual Ventures. Bily worked at Astranis Space Technologies and Apple as an antenna engineer.
Kapta was featured in a recent “startup radar” post on GeekWire.
MetaVC, based in Silicon Valley, is a metamaterials-centric venture fund backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold. MetaVC has backed other Seattle-area companies including Mangata, Lumotive, and Neurophos.
Entrada Ventures and Blue Collective also invested in the seed round.
