Space Angels Network members are active investors looking for opportunities to make a solid return on their money while also helping to shape the next generation of aerospace-related technologies, markets, and industries. They seek viable growth businesses with like-minded entrepreneurs as partners.

• Characteristics. Like most investors, members tend to place the highest priority on strong management teams. However, clear and sustainable competitive advantages, scalability, and initial market validation are also quite critical to successfully securing investment.
• Deal Stage. We accept applications from seed-, early-, expansion-, and growth-stage ventures. However, only fully formed operational companies will be accepted; members generally will not fund ideas or technologies.
• Funding Needs. We accept applications from ventures seeking less than $10 million in funding. There is no minimum, but generally members will actively participate in opportunities ranging from $100,000 to $2,500,000.

These ventures offer data-intensive products and services that rely on space- or aerial-based platforms and sensors. Examples include satellite telecommunications, GPS-based satellite navigation, vehicle telematics and remote diagnostics, earth and space weather observation, fixed or mobile asset tracking and monitoring, remote sensing, environmental/climate change/carbon emissions monitoring, disaster response and mitigation, agriculture management and crop forecasting, and sensor fusion applications. Customers can include consumers, business, non-profit or government organizations.

• Vehicles, Platforms, and Components. These ventures include designers and manufacturers of orbital and sub-orbital space vehicles and launch systems, satellites, habitats, platforms and related components. Builders of aircraft (personal air vehicles, light sport aircraft, very light jets, etc.), rotorcraft, UAV’s and lighter-than-air vehicles and associated subsystems, along with their suppliers, are also included here. Ground rovers based on NASA- or other space-derived technologies fall into this category as well.
• Services. These ventures include emerging suborbital and orbital space tourism operators, traditional suborbital and orbital launch services providers, and in-orbit and capsule return services, along with their suppliers. Operators of air taxi services, air ambulance services, cargo and freight services, airships and their suppliers are also included.
• Operations Infrastructure. These ventures provide transportation infrastructure technologies, facilities and services used by operators. Examples include airports, airport passenger and cargo security and inspection systems, spaceports, satellite tracking stations and software systems, satellite servicing and repair, on-orbit fuel depots, air and space traffic management and control systems, and virtual airport and air traffic controller trainers and simulators, to name just a few.

• SBIR/STTR Applicants. These ventures are serious about commercializing aerospace-related technologies developed through prior or concurrent SBIR/STTR R&D investments by government research programs. Federal agencies of particular interest include NASA, Department of Defense (AFRL, MDA, DARPA, NGA, etc.), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Transportation/FAA, Department of Energy (DoE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NIST, and NOAA.
• University and Federal Lab Tech Transfer. These ventures are commercializing intellectual property developed in a university or national laboratory setting. Technology transfer mechanisms can include spin-outs, cooperation agreements, licenses, laboratory equity or in-kind investments, or joint venturing arrangements, to name a few examples.
• Dual-Use Technologies. These ventures seek to apply aerospace-derived technologies to non-aerospace commercial markets. Examples include advanced materials, manufacturing processes, software systems and sensors.
• Prize and Business Plan Competition Teams. Competition teams that have incorporated as for-profit ventures, that are seeking seed- or early-stage private equity financing in support of longer term commercial objectives, and that have developed a sound business plan, are also welcome to apply.

• "Clean" Technologies. These ventures employ aerospace-related technologies to produce “green energy” (biofuels, wind power, solar power, fuel cells, etc); reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts of ground, air and space vehicles and facilities (“sustainable aviation”, etc); and purify and cleanse water, air and indoor spaces using environmentally closed life support systems (ECLSS) technologies, among others.
• Media, Entertainment, and Retail. Companies in these markets offer space- and aviation-themed digital content and branded consumer products. Examples include interactive computer games, virtual world environments, film and cable/television productions, foods and beverages, and merchandise such as apparel, toys, home décor, books and magazines, and electronics.
• Medical Devices, Telemedicine, and Life Sciences. These ventures aim at commercializing healthcare technologies or medicines that derive from NASA-, FAA-, DoD- or NIH-sponsored aeromedical and biology research programs. Example technologies and markets include advanced medical sensors and devices, medication delivery methods, remote patient monitoring and diagnosis, telemedicine and –surgery, and osteoporosis, jet lag, motion sickness and sleeping disorder medications. New treatments resulting from space-based protein crystal, stem cell, neurovestibular and musculoskeletal research also fall into this category.

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