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Abstract: This paper examines entrepreneurship in the U.S. "New Space" economy and how local ecosystems and institutional infrastructure shape venture entry and funding. We examine data on 237 U.S. space startups founded between 2012 and 2024 with state-year measures of public and private scientific research capacity and NASA grant activity. Space entrepreneurship is concentrated in a small number of states and differs from hardware and software entrepreneurship in both geography and early funding profiles. Our findings show that private scientific research investment is positively associated with venture funding, especially in pro-space states with launch infrastructure and supportive legislation. We also find that the number of NASA grants awarded, not necessarily the grant size, is strongly related to higher venture funding, and that female founder presence strengthens this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of complementary assets and place-based ecosystems in nascent, capital-intensive industries.

Keywords: Space; Strategy; Startups; Geographic complementarities

JEL-codes: J16; L26; R11

35 pages, April 20, 2026

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