About
FormerSpaceX tracks companies founded by people who used to work at SpaceX, and what those companies are adding to the American economy.
Why this exists
SpaceX has trained thousands of engineers and operators in how to build hard things quickly. Many have gone on to start companies in nuclear energy, defense, manufacturing, software and space itself. This index makes that network easy to explore, with the evidence behind every entry in plain view.
What qualifies
- At least one founder or co-founder was employed by SpaceX. Internships count but are labeled on the profile so readers can weigh them.
- A public source connects that founder to SpaceX: news coverage, company materials, a university or government page, or the founder's own public profile.
- Closed and acquired companies stay in the index with their status marked.
How the data is gathered
Each record is written by hand from independent public sources: news reports, company announcements, funding press releases, government contracts and filings. Sources are listed on every company page, 208 in total across the index. When a figure can't be confirmed it is left blank rather than estimated.
Other directories of SpaceX alumni companies exist. We use them only as leads for what to research, and we don't copy their data.
How to read the numbers
- Disclosed funding is the sum of rounds that have been publicly reported. It's a lower bound: many companies don't announce every round.
- Reported valuation is the most recent figure published by a credible outlet, with the date it applied.
- Headquarters are city-level. Where only a state is known, only the state is shown.
- Each profile shows the date it was last verified.
Corrections and additions
Anyone can submit a company or a correction. Each company is also a small JSON file in the project's repository, so changes can be proposed on GitHub. Nothing is published until it has been checked against a source.
Using the data
The full dataset is available as JSON and CSV under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Please credit FormerSpaceX (formerspacex.com).
Independence
FormerSpaceX is an independent directory. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. "SpaceX" is a trademark of its owner and is used here only to describe where company founders previously worked. Listings are free and can't be bought, and the order of results is never paid for.