Stoke Space
Stoke Space is a space launch startup developing fully reusable rockets, with 438 employees and $1.4B in total funding. It has raised a Series D round in 2025.
The growth story
Stoke Space grew from 96 to 438 employees between 2023 and 2026, raising $1.4B along the way, most recently a Series D in October 2025.
About
Stoke Space builds reusable rockets for space transportation. The company targets the commercial and defense space launch markets with its fully reusable vehicle design.
The company has grown to 438 employees, though its exact headcount growth rate is unclear. Its $1.4B total funding includes a 2025 Series D round from investors like Breakthrough Energy Ventures and IQT.
Founders and leadership
Engineering dominates Stoke's workforce with 112 engineers. The company operates with a small-team structure that emphasizes individual ownership and rapid iteration.
The Stoke Space org chart
Andy Lapsa (Co-Founder, CEO) leads 56 mapped leaders with 3 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 224 (+41% YoY), Operations 50 (+28% YoY), Entrepreneurship 27 (+17% YoY), Quality Assurance 19 (+73% YoY), Information Technology 19 (+58% YoY), Business Development 18 (+80% YoY).
Talent flow
Stoke recruits heavily from Blue Origin (61 hires) and SpaceX (54), while also losing talent back to those competitors. Purdue University is its top alma mater with 19 alumni.
Most common previous employers of Stoke Space staff: Blue Origin (61), SpaceX (54), Relativity Space (17), Amazon (11), Boeing (10), NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration (10). Former Stoke Space employees most often moved to SpaceX (12), Blue Origin (11), Amazon (6), Impulse Space (3), Anduril Industries (3), Panthalassa (3).
Alumni worth knowing
The Stoke Space mafia
Three alumni-founded space companies exist, including Forge (1 founder, 5 staff) and Starport Space (1 founder, 2 staff).
3Emir Sahmanovic, was Propulsion Engineer until 2023Roberto Vela III, was Vehicle Manufacturing & Environmental Test Technician until 2025David Venegas, was Software Engineer until 2024Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 27% direct, 35% search, 23% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Stoke Space: Leadership (110), MATLAB (109), Microsoft Office (108), Python (Programming Language) (95), SOLIDWORKS (93), Project Management (83), Microsoft Excel (78), Engineering (66).
Where the team actually sits
Stoke Space people are concentrated in Washington, United States (112), Greater Seattle Area (29), Florida, United States (20), California, United States (13). 2 offices on record.
Search footprint
Stoke Space attracts about 5,262 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $4K a month if bought through ads. It gained 228 ranking keywords and lost 101 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 3.80 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.30 / 5
- Senior management
- 4.40 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 3.30 / 5
Frequently asked
Stoke Space has 438 employees as of September 2026.
Stoke Space has raised $1.4B in total, most recently a Series D round in October 2025.
Stoke Space was founded in 2019 by Andy Lapsa, Tom Feldman.
Andy Lapsa (Co-Founder, CEO) sits at the top of Stoke Space's reporting structure, with 3 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Stoke Space staff are Blue Origin (61 people), SpaceX (54 people), Relativity Space (17 people).
Former Stoke Space employees most often move to SpaceX (12), Blue Origin (11), Amazon (6).
At least 3 companies have a founder who previously worked at Stoke Space, including Forge, Starport Space, Edgerun Industries.
Stoke Space attracts about 5,262 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $4K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Stoke Space staff are Leadership, MATLAB, Microsoft Office, Python (Programming Language), SOLIDWORKS.
Stoke Space staff are concentrated in Washington, United States (112), Greater Seattle Area (29), Florida, United States (20).
Stoke Space has about 224 people in Engineering, up 41% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Stoke Space has about 50 people in Operations, up 28% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 217 current and 145 former Stoke Space profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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