Right now, Apex introduced their Collection B funding spherical, led by XYZ Ventures and CRV, with participation from Upfront. And should you spend a lot time in LA, you’ll shortly notice that we’re in a groundswell of house and protection startups.

Is it due to the wealthy engineering expertise popping out of Caltech, UCLA, USC, Harvey Mudd, and all the opposite universities?

Is it due to the lengthy historical past within the area of aerospace and aviation experience, from Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin to JPL and Nasa?

Is it as a result of SpaceX spearheaded a pool of startup-minded thinkers who are actually beginning their very own companies?

It’s all of these issues. And all of these issues contributed to Ian Cinnamon founding Apex proper right here in California. Apex builds satellite tv for pc buses faster and extra affordably than ever earlier than, permitting corporations to quickly increase essential satellite tv for pc deployment.

Lately I had the pleasure of talking with Ian on This Week in Startups. So moderately than writing a protracted weblog put up about why this enterprise is so needed (it’s) and why we at Upfront are so excited to assist it (we’re), I’ll allow you to hear straight from him about:

• The origin of Apex and why it needed to be in-built Los Angeles
• Why house is a fascinating sector for buyers and founders
• The complexities of constructing satellites (and the way Apex has unlocked the market)
• The launch of its first satellite tv for pc and taking a selfie from house

I hope you’ll take a look at the dialog right here, and be part of me in congratulating Ian, Max, and Apex staff on in the present day’s milestone.