Solaris Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Solaris Ventures (legal entity Solaris Fund Management LLC) is a space technology and dual-use venture firm. Its website describes a belief in the unlimited possibilities of space exploration and commerce, and a portfolio of companies building solutions for space exploration, satellite infrastructure and adjacent markets. The firm organizes its approach into four lenses. Frontier Bets are technologies that push the boundaries of where humans and machines can operate beyond Earth and open new markets, such as lunar resource harvesting. Picks & Shovels are satellite integrations, products and technologies that cut launch and operations costs. Earth Intelligence covers companies using Earth observation data, sensors and analytics to monitor Earth's systems and climate. National Security covers dual-use technologies that improve resilience and awareness in space and at the edge.
The About page says the firm combines engineering knowledge with generalist business acumen, and weighs near-term use cases and revenue streams as heavily as long-range possibility. The team cites extensive knowledge of government contracting, high-capex operations and the mechanics of building space businesses. In an Infinite Frontiers interview, founding partner Tristan Jennings said space is less about technology than about market timing and frontier economics, and that Solaris is space first while recognizing that most space companies overlap with defense. He does not call Solaris a defense firm. He noted that most space technologies are at least somewhat dual use, with government interest as an early customer and development funder (SBIR, STRATFI, TACFI) followed by commercial demand.
Stage Focus
The firm positions itself as early-stage. The website promises strategic funding at Seed, Series A and beyond, and Jennings describes Solaris as a niche fund focused on Series A investments, aimed at what he sees as a capital gap after the very earliest stage in space. The portfolio shows participation in seed-stage companies (AscendArc and Orbital Ops both closed seed rounds led by others) so the firm appears to invest across seed and Series A, often alongside specialist and generalist co-investors.
Check Size
No check size or fund size is published on the website or in the sources reviewed. The Form ADV filing for Solaris Fund Management LLC (last filed June 2026) lists no reported AUM in the aggregator summary. Check size and fund size are therefore left unset rather than guessed.
Lead Tendency
Not established. Public round announcements for the portfolio name other lead investors (Initialized Capital led Orbital Operations' $8.8M seed; OTB Ventures led Auriga Space's seed). Solaris appears as a participant in the disclosed rounds, so lead tendency is recorded as unknown.
Recent Activity
The firm's news page tracks portfolio events. Auriga Space raised $6M (combined seed and grant-style funding) in July 2025 and was awarded a $1.25M Direct to Phase II SBIR. In August 2026 Auriga unveiled Hermes, a containerized electromagnetic launcher for counter-UAS, after a successful open-air field test, and added retired Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, former Missile Defense Agency director, as an advisor. Interlune raised a further $5M by SAFE in September 2026 for a plan that goes beyond mining helium-3 on the Moon. Orbital Operations raised an $8.8M seed in August 2025 led by Initialized Capital. AscendArc raised a $3.95M pre-seed and seed in January 2025 to build small geostationary satellites, and later secured a $200M+ leased-satellite commitment from SLI. Fund status looks active, with follow-on activity in 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
The website lists four companies: Auriga Space (electromagnetic launch for space and defense), Interlune (resource harvesting on the Moon and beyond), Orbital Ops (space vehicles built for mobility at scale) and AscendArc (low-cost geostationary satellites). The home page also references undisclosed companies, including an in-situ resource utilization startup and a high-mobility spacecraft company. No exits are disclosed.
Team
- Tristan Jennings, Founding Partner. Born in Los Angeles, raised in the UK and Switzerland. Began as an engineering apprentice at ABB in high-voltage power, then studied political science and economics and earned a master's in political economy at the London School of Economics. Worked in corporate finance and treasury at Westlake Financial Services, then was a founding associate of Marubeni Corporation's corporate venture arm in 2019, where he covered space and built a network of upstream space capital including Seraphim and Space Capital.
- Fillip Gladkov, Investor (Founding Investment Associate per Crunchbase). Background in building communities for early-stage startups and venture; UC Berkeley; previously at Next Legacy.
Decision Process
A two-person investing team led by a founding partner suggests a solo-GP style decision process, though this is not stated publicly. Inbound pitches go through a form on the website that accepts a deck link.
Founder Preferences
Jennings looks for well-rounded technical founders who can build and also lead engineering teams, scale facilities and manufacturing, and work with both government and commercial customers. Prior aerospace experience helps, as does fluency in business development, sales and the government pipeline. He is skeptical of solutions in search of problems given the burn rates in hardware.
Geographic Focus
The firm is based in Los Angeles. Portfolio companies sit in California, Washington State (Interlune, Seattle) and Oregon (AscendArc, Portland). The sector focus is global in principle but government-contract familiarity points to a US emphasis.
What They Avoid
Jennings said he is not convinced that in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing is a large enough market yet, and that debris removal and space situational awareness need regulation before a business model is clear.