‘I’ve always loved space since childhood – now I run the world’s biggest space fund’
Mark Boggett co-founded Seraphim Space in 2015 and recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
As CEO of the world’s leading global space investor, Mark Boggett can see up to 200 different opportunities land on his desk every month.
Since the pioneering space technology fund was launched a decade ago, Britons have marveled at companies connecting a bluetooth element on Earth to radars on the ground that can detect cosmic objects the size of a small coin from space.
Seraphim Space has built a global brand from the beginning and has built a large following on social media, now giving the company exposure to the majority of global deal flow in space.
“We have visibility that no one else has,” says Boggett, who co-founded the company in 2015. “Ultimately, this leads to the USP that we see every space job. When we see a new job, we know whether it’s special or not.”
Read more: I was an antique dealer before helping grow our Gen Z stationery sales to $50 million
This project, which is vital for Boggett and his partners, also helps educate investors. In a portfolio of 147 space technology companies run by defense startups, seven have reached £1bn in value and only three have failed. The British-based firm’s net asset value also increased to £259.8 million.
Seraphim Space manages three important venture funds; an accelerator focused on supporting startups to access financing, a private venture fund and the world’s first publicly listed space technology fund in 2021.
Boggett says he was drawn to the industry during a risk-averse, expensive time for the industry, before the expansion of the space economy led to satellite deployment becoming increasingly cheaper and more accessible.
Seraphim Space has invested in the world’s first microsatellite synthetic aperture radar to monitor natural disasters and hazards such as floods.
He cites Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its reusable rockets as the main driver. In 2024, an orbital launch occurred every 34 hours; Thousands of satellites, “the size of cars and buses, and now the size of more capable microwave ovens and shoeboxes,” can see the Earth in real time and provide new forms of communication.
“This is the next generation of space capability and is a game changer,” says Boggett.
The space industry is expected to become one of the most valuable sectors of the global economy and is expected to reach £1.4 trillion by 2035.
More than half of the 18,000 satellites launched in space history since 2020 have reached where sending them into orbit once required significant investment and time. Analysts predict 100,000 satellites will be launched into space this decade.
Bogget, who grew up in Manchester, studied accounting at the University of Leeds and then completed a master’s degree in economics and finance. Trained on the investment side, his career has focused on deep technology.
Read more: ‘My company helps thousands of people over 50 get inspired and avoid retiring’
A director of specialist investor YFM Equity, he joined forces with partners James Bruegger and Rob Desborough, with whom he had worked since 2006, after interest was sparked by Google’s £300 million purchase of satellite company Skybox Imaging in 2014. “This showed us that you can build businesses quickly, efficiently, and do it profitably,” adds Boggett.
Without any work background in space (they had always had an interest since childhood) they were introduced by the UK space agency to the CEOs of 11 of the world’s largest traditional space companies. British Business Bank subsequently agreed to support the fund for £30 million in 2016.
Ten years after launch and having witnessed exponential growth, Boggett is keenly aware that Seraphim Space is “part of the problem” when it comes to dealing with space debris.
The space industry is on its way to becoming one of the most profitable sectors of the global economy
“We are the financiers of large constellations and are adding to the problem of large debris in the space environment,” he says. “If left unchecked, it could make the area no longer commercially viable.”
The space technology fund has acquired a multi-million stake in Tokyo-based Astroscale, a satellite services group whose technology extends the life of Earth-orbiting satellites through docking vehicles that can inspect, repair or remove broken space hardware.
Seraphim Space has also partnered with San Francisco-based LeoLabs, billed as the ‘Google Maps of Space’, where ground radars can see an object “the size of a 2p fragment from 1,000 km away”. Once detected, the company will be able to track it through space in real time and then determine the path the piece of debris is on.
Read more: ‘We threw phone cases from the 250 meter high dam to show that our products work’
Boggett, who also has offices in San Francisco and Berlin and whose portfolio spans more than 35 countries, enjoys global travel and conferences where he regularly speaks, in addition to his family life. “My passion is my work,” he says. Is there something keeping him awake at night? “War in space. Economies are dependent on space,” he notes.
Meanwhile, there are no immediate plans for the space tourism market. He says this is an industry that is decades away from being commercial and outside of Seraphim Space’s 10-year view.
“This rules out space travel or anything to do with the Moon or Mars,” Boggett admits. “Looking to tomorrow, it’s about building infrastructure, data centers and manufacturing in space, removing all the dirty industries and moving them into space without pollution.”
Read more:
Download the Yahoo Finance app you can use. Apple And Android
