Compare Companies
| Field | 🇿🇦 NewSpace Systems | 🇿🇦 Dragonfly Aerospace | 🇺🇸 RedwireNYSE: RDW | 🇺🇸 Planet LabsNYSE: PL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | private | private | public | public |
| Country | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Founded | 2013 | 2019 | 2020 | 2010 |
| CEO | Tanya Lerm | Bryan Dean | Andrew Rush | Will Marshall |
| Mkt Cap / Valuation | Undisclosed — privately held subsidiary of Schauenburg International (acquired January 2020). Annual revenue estimated at ~USD 5.6M (2025, third-party estimate); not officially confirmed. | Undisclosed — privately held, majority-owned by Noosphere Ventures (Max Polyakov). No funding amounts publicly disclosed. | ~$1.7B | ~$12.8B |
| Employees | ~160 highly skilled professionals (group-wide, Somerset West HQ + US/UK/NZ offices) | ~70–100 (PitchBook ~71 as of mid-2024; company states 100+ in CEO interviews) | ~1,410 | ~970 |
| Sector | Space | Space | Space Infrastructure & Manufacturing | Earth Observation & Geospatial Analytics |
| Last raise / Last filing | Undisclosed (2020-01-29) | — | 10-K filed | 10-K filed |
| Top risks | Revenue concentration: A significant share of production flows through Airbus/OneWeb-related programs; any slowdown in LEO broadband constellation deployment (Eutelsat financial stress, regulatory delays) directly hits NSS volume.; Parent dependency: Schauenburg International is an industrial conglomerate primarily known for mining equipment; its strategic commitment to a space hardware subsidiary could shift, potentially limiting capital access for NSS growth investments. | Noosphere/Polyakov concentration risk: The majority of current revenue flows through EOSDA and LatConnect 60, both Noosphere-affiliated entities. Any strategic shift by Max Polyakov or Noosphere Ventures could simultaneously remove anchor customer revenue and principal equity support.; Small team/execution risk: With ~70–100 employees, Dragonfly operates on a thin staffing basis relative to the multi-satellite production commitments it has made. Any key-person departures (optics engineers, payload systems leads) could delay deliveries. | Net losses continue: FY2024 net loss of $114.3M and negative Adjusted EBITDA reflect high debt service and development costs; Redwire must achieve EBITDA breakeven in 2026 to avoid financing risk.; High customer concentration — NASA, DoD, and a small number of commercial primes represent the bulk of revenue; loss of any major program could materially impair near-term results. | GAAP profitability: Planet achieved adjusted EBITDA profitability in FY2026 but remains GAAP net-loss negative; achieving GAAP positive is the key institutional re-rating threshold.; Defense contract concentration: NRO/NGA contracts drive growing revenue but expose Planet to U.S. government budget cycles, classification decisions, and competitive rebidding. |
| Next catalyst | Full commissioning of Somerset West 5,200 sqm factory — thermal-vacuum testing online (2026) | LatConnect 60 SWIRSAT launch (three Chameleon SWIR payloads) (2026) | FY2026 revenue guidance of $450–500M execution (2026-Q4) | Second-generation 30 cm Pelican satellites launch and first imagery delivery (2026-Q4) |
Maximum 4 companies. Pass slugs in the ids query parameter, comma-separated. Try SpaceX vs Blue Origin vs Rocket Lab vs Firefly.