FormerSpaceX

Apex

Standardized satellite buses built like products, not projects.

Founded
2022
Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
Disclosed funding
$500M
Status
Operating
Sector
Space
Latest round
—
Reported valuation
$1B
Website
apexspace.com

Overview

Apex manufactures off-the-shelf satellite platforms (Aries, Nova and Comet) so customers can buy a spacecraft bus instead of designing one. CTO Max Benassi spent six years at SpaceX working on Raptor turbomachinery.

Funding

More than $500M reported by Business Insider (Dec 2025); includes a $200M Series C. Reported valuation: $1B (2025).

Disclosed funding is the sum of publicly reported rounds found in the sources below. It is a floor, not a complete total.

Founders

Ian Cinnamon, Co-founder & CEO
Not a SpaceX alum
Max Benassi, Co-founder & CTO
At SpaceX: Senior propulsion engineer, Raptor turbomachinery · 6 years
satellitesspacecraft busesmanufacturing

Sources

  1. Apex: $200M Series D
  2. Business Insider via Yahoo: The SpaceX Mafia is here

Last verified September 30, 2026.