Kapta Space

Kapta Space, a Seattle-based company founded in 2023, is focused on developing spaceborne radar systems. The company was established by CEO Milton Perque and CTO Adam Bily, both of whom were early pioneers in metamaterials-based systems and engineering leaders at Echodyne. Perque's background includes roles at Metacept and Intellectual Ventures, while Bily brings experience from Astranis Space Technologies and Apple.

The firm is engineering low-cost, electronically steerable array (ESA) sensors for satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Its core technology utilizes a metasurface antenna to enable a new class of radar systems that aim to be less expensive, complex, and power-consuming than traditional Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESAs). This approach is designed to provide high-resolution, persistent geospatial imagery and data analytics regardless of weather conditions or time of day.

Kapta Space's business model targets both commercial and government sectors, with an initial focus on defense applications. The company is already working with the U.S. Department of Defense, having secured a $1.8 million SBIR contract in 2023 to advance its technology. Key applications include geospatial imagery and Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) for defense missions. For commercial markets, the technology enables Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Interferometric SAR (InSAR), which can be used for monitoring large-scale infrastructure and land displacement in industries like mining. In February 2025, the company announced a $5 million seed funding round led by MetaVC Partners, with participation from Entrada Ventures and Blue Collective, to accelerate its on-orbit demonstrations.

Keywords: spaceborne radar, electronically steered array, ESA, metasurface antenna, SAR, Synthetic Aperture Radar, InSAR, Earth observation, geospatial intelligence, satellite imagery, defense technology, ground moving target indication, GMTI, LEO constellation, remote sensing, space technology, dual-use technology, Milton Perque, Adam Bily, MetaVC Partners