SAN FRANCISCO – Zenno Astronautics, a New Zealand startup focused on applying superconducting magnets for spacecraft attitude control and acceleration, plans to redomicile to the United States.
“It is obvious that most of the global space industry, both commercial and defense, as well as global venture capitalists are here,” Max Arshavsky, Zenno CEO and co-founder, told SpaceNew from Los Angeles, where he was viewing spaces to lease.
Arshavsky co-founded Zenno in Auckland with Sebastian Wieczorek, Zenno chief product officer. Zenno’s impending relocation comes on the heels of a June demonstration of its Z01 Supertorquer, a superconducting magnetic actuator, aboard Impulse Space’s Mira satellite.
“It’s the world’s first and most capable magnetic stabilization systems for satellites, and it’s now ready commercially,” Arshavsky said.
Choosing LA
To sell its attitude-control actuator and develop new products, Zenno is putting down roots in Los Angeles.
“When you look at the map of aerospace companies, they’re insanely dense here in Los Angeles,” Arshavsky said. “I have full confidence that we can make it work here. I’ve seen it done here before, and I understand how it’s been done before.”
While Los Angeles is more expensive than other U.S. cities, Zenno chose the location because it offers access to “partners, customers, investors and talent,” Arshavsky said.
Some Zenno employees will relocate from New Zealand. The company also will hire locally.
By September or October, “we’ll have a facility here to produce our product at a higher scale than is possible in New Zealand and to continue developing new products based on our platform that we’ve pioneered,” Arshavsky said.
Long-term vision
Zenno was founded in 2017 on the idea that high-temperature superconductors offer promise for space mobility and radiation shielding.
“There’s an unlimited amount of energy in space,” Ashavsky said. “We want to make sure that when we go to space, we live off the resources available to us, instead of taking resources from Earth.”
Initially, much of Zenno’s technology is likely to remain in Earth orbit, but the technology has important applications for lunar infrastructure, Arshavsky said. “We look forward to enabling infrastructure on the moon and infrastructure between Earth and the moon.”
Zenno raised 10.5 million New Zealand dollars ($6.12 million) in a 2022 seed round. In 2024, Mitsubishi Electric Corp.’s Innovation Fund provided additional capital.
“Beyond establishing its headquarters, Zenno is committed to becoming an active contributor to Southern California’s world-class aerospace community. The company plans to grow its U.S. workforce, collaborate with industry leaders, government agencies and universities, and help strengthen America’s leadership in superconducting technologies for space and national security,” according to Zenno’s July 15 news release.
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