Bridgit Mendler's Space Startup Northwood Achieves Major Milestone with Satellite Antenna Connection

Bridgit Mendler, along with her co-founders, Griffin Cleverly and Shaurya Luthra, expressed excitement about Northwood’s recent success in connecting its prototype antenna to Planet’s satellites, a significant step in the startup’s journey.

Mendler, who transitioned from her acting career into the tech world after earning a Ph.D. from MIT, described the project as “rethinking infrastructure for satellite backhaul from the ground up.”

In a statement on LinkedIn, Mendler said, “Expect the unexpected! We’re building a data highway between Earth and space, and this successful test is a testament to our team’s hard work and innovative approach.” She further emphasized that their goal is to make satellite communications more efficient by addressing the outdated infrastructure that currently supports it.

Griffin Cleverly, Northwood’s CTO, shared insights on the technical challenges they are tackling. “The ground station technology in use today hasn’t evolved much since the 1960s. What we’re doing at Northwood is building something that can be rapidly deployed and is scalable to meet the growing demands of modern satellite data transfer.” This perspective reflects Northwood's ambition to overcome the inefficiencies that currently plague satellite communications, such as high production costs and delays in data transfer.

Shaurya Luthra, head of software at Northwood, echoed these sentiments, stating, “We are excited about this test, but even more excited about the future. Our mission is to bring the benefits of space technology closer to people on Earth, and this is just the beginning.” The team’s innovative approach is driven by their desire to ensure that data from satellites—used for everything from climate research to space exploration—reaches scientists and analysts more quickly and reliably.

Northwood has attracted funding from venture capital firms like Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz, raising $6.3 million in seed funding. The startup’s focus on quick production and deployment of ground stations is part of their larger vision to handle the influx of data from the thousands of satellites expected to be launched in the coming decade​.