Space for Growth: Startups on the Final Frontier

Mija Aleksandraviciute,, Stephen Michael Impink and Robert Seamans
Additional contact information
Mija Aleksandraviciute,: University of Rochester [USA]
Stephen Michael Impink: HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales
Robert Seamans: NYU - New York University [New York] - NYU - NYU System

Working Papers from HAL

Abstract: This paper examines entrepreneurship in the U.S. "New Space" economy and how local ecosystems and institutional infrastructure shape venture entry and funding. We examine data on 237 U.S. space startups founded between 2012 and 2024 with state-year measures of public and private scientific research capacity and NASA grant activity. Space entrepreneurship is concentrated in a small number of states and differs from hardware and software entrepreneurship in both geography and early funding profiles. Our findings show that private scientific research investment is positively associated with venture funding, especially in pro-space states with launch infrastructure and supportive legislation. We also find that the number of NASA grants awarded, not necessarily the grant size, is strongly related to higher venture funding, and that female founder presence strengthens this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of complementary assets and place-based ecosystems in nascent, capital-intensive industries.

Keywords: Space; Strategy; Startups; Geographic complementarities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-04
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05610840

DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6519958

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().