Earthrise Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Earthrise Ventures is an early-stage deep tech venture capital firm. Its own description is that it invests "in the future that space age tech enables on Earth, and beyond." The firm is a specialist in aerospace and defense and the hard technology around it: launch and in-space transportation, satellites and Earth observation, commercial space stations, in-space manufacturing, asteroid resources, advanced manufacturing and robotics, and energy technologies that grew out of space-era engineering. The framing is that capabilities developed for space (cheap launch, autonomous systems, precision manufacturing, space-based sensing and power) become the foundation for industries on the ground, which is why the portfolio mixes space companies with defense manufacturing, industrial robotics, fusion and energy names.
Stage Focus
Third-party profiles list the firm at pre-seed (inception), seed and Series A. The firm's website does not state a stage. Its portfolio page includes companies that later raised large rounds, and the firm participated in the $300M Series A of Vast in March 2026, which suggests it keeps pro-rata exposure into later rounds in winners. Stage by company is not stated on the site and is not recorded here.
Check Size
The firm does not publish check sizes. No reliable source was found, so none is recorded.
Lead Tendency
Unknown. In the Vast Series A reported by Payload (March 2026), Balerion Space Ventures led and Earthrise Ventures was a participant. Whether it leads earlier rounds is not documented on the sources reviewed.
Recent Activity
Earthrise Ventures participated in Vast's $300M Series A (part of a $500M raise including $200M of debt) announced 5 March 2026, alongside Balerion Space Ventures (lead), IQT, Qatar Investment Authority, Mitsui, MUFG, Nikon, Stellar Ventures and Space Capital. PitchBook lists its latest recorded investment as Besxar (aerospace and defense) on 9 September 2026. An SEC Form D filed in August 2025 under Earthrise Ventures X, LLC indicates a fund vehicle was raising or had raised capital then; the fund size is not confirmed here. The firm appears to be actively deploying.
Portfolio Highlights
The portfolio page shows roughly 31 named companies and says "and more." Marked exits on the page: Duro (Acquired), Datum (Acquired) and SpaceX (IPO). Notable holdings include Impulse Space and K2 Space (spacecraft and in-space transportation; K2's Gravitas satellite achieved its Tier 1 mission success criteria after launching on SpaceX Transporter-16), Varda Space Industries (in-space manufacturing), Vast Space (commercial space station), AstroForge (asteroid mining), Muon Space (satellites), Hadrian and Machina Labs (advanced manufacturing), Marathon Fusion and Overview Energy (energy), and Sift (observability for hardware and aerospace).
Team
Scott Norman is Founder and General Partner. Before founding Earthrise in 2021 he was Managing Partner at Velorum Capital (2014 to 2020) and has served as a technology expert and investor in residence in media and technology programs. The firm's website has no team page; third-party profiles list him as the sole investing team member.
Decision Process
Appears to be a solo GP firm: one named investor, and the website lists a single contact address. Decision timeline is not documented.
Founder Preferences
Not stated on the site. The portfolio skews toward technical founding teams building hardware, space systems and industrial technology, many of which are well-known category leaders. Norman's public posts celebrate teams delivering on technical milestones, which suggests an emphasis on execution after the pitch.
Geographic Focus
The firm is headquartered in New York, NY, and invests across the United States. Portfolio companies are largely US-based.