The California startup is driving a new generation of positioning, navigation, and synchronization services from low Earth orbit to overcome the limitations of traditional GPS.
Xona Space Systems, an emerging startup in the aerospace sector based in the U.S., has announced a total funding injection of over $150 million to accelerate its ambitious plan to transform the global navigation system. With this round of funding, the company is taking a key step towards building a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites capable of providing a commercial navigation service that is much more precise, secure, and resilient than the current GPS system.
Among the announced funds is a Series B led by Craft Ventures, along with existing investors such as Stellar Ventures, Seraphim Ventures, Toyota Ventures, First Spark, Industrious Ventures, Future Ventures, and NGP Capital. Additionally, Xona has secured an extra $20 million through a non-dilutive grant from SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force, via its STRATFI (Strategic Funding Increase) program.
The company, founded by Brian Manning and other engineers specializing in space systems and navigation signals, states that the goal is to “rebuild the positioning infrastructure from the ground up for the modern era,” focusing on resilience, centimeter-level accuracy, and resistance to interference.
The Birth of Pulsar: Beyond GPS
The announcement comes after the successful launch of Pulsar-0, the first production-class satellite of its future constellation, which began operations this week in low Earth orbit. Pulsar is designed to overcome the limitations of GPS, whose infrastructure was conceived decades ago with a military orientation and, despite its importance in sectors like aviation, agriculture, and logistics, has not evolved at the pace demanded by today’s technological challenges.
According to Xona, Pulsar will be the first commercial navigation service with a signal up to 100 times more powerful than conventional GPS, allowing it to operate in environments where GPS fails: under dense vegetation, in industrial interiors, in areas with interference, or even in urban canyons.
Moreover, its accuracy is centimeter-level, making it an optimal solution to drive the mass adoption of autonomous vehicles, drones, and robotics. All of this is reinforced with encrypted and authenticated signals that address growing threats such as spoofing and intentional interference in conflict zones.
A New Standard for Multiple Industries
Xona is not only targeting the military or aerospace sector. The Pulsar service aims to be a cross-sectional solution for key industries such as construction, precision agriculture, mining, smart transportation, IoT, critical infrastructure, and automotive, among others. By operating from low Earth orbit (LEO), Xona’s constellation achieves reduced latency, better resistance to multipath effects (reflected signals), and robust coverage in areas traditionally underserved by current satellite navigation systems.
“We are building not just a constellation of satellites but a completely new layer of global infrastructure,” stated Brian Manning, CEO and co-founder of Xona, in the official release. “Navigation and synchronization are systems that should not fail. They are invisible, but they underpin every transaction, every journey, every device that moves with precision.”
From Huginn to the Operational Constellation
The project began to take shape in 2022 with the launch of Huginn, the first commercial navigation satellite in low Earth orbit, which served as a technology demonstrator. Now, with Pulsar-0 operational and new rounds of funding secured, Xona is preparing to deploy its first batch of operational production satellites in 2026, marking the start of commercial service for its first customers.
The roadmap includes deploying “hundreds of satellites” in the coming years, which will allow the service to scale and expand global coverage. This growth will be accompanied by an expansion of the team, with hiring in areas such as mission operations, ground systems, signal processing, customer support, and business development.
A Strategic Bet in Complex Geopolitical Times
In an international context marked by geopolitical tensions and the increasing use of electronic warfare systems, satellite navigation has become a matter of sovereignty and national security. Xona emphasizes that its proposal strengthens technological autonomy and offers a reliable alternative where GPS can be vulnerable or inoperative.
The United States, which led the GPS revolution during the Cold War, now faces an urgent need to modernize its navigation infrastructure against the rapid advances of other players like China, Russia, or the European Union, who are developing their own GNSS or complementary systems. Private initiatives like Xona, backed by institutional and venture capital, could represent a more agile and technologically advanced route to close that gap.
The Future: Invisible Navigation, Tangible Progress
Xona’s vision is not to replace GPS but to complement and strengthen it for a hyperconnected and autonomous world. The launch of Pulsar marks the beginning of a new era in navigation intelligence, where the infrastructure not only informs “where we are,” but also enables how we move, work, and automate.
As Manning concludes, “when these systems work well, progress accelerates. That is what we are building. And now, we are going to scale it.”
Source: Xona