Space Investment Summit 3: A Major Step Forward

Space Investment Summit 3 (SIS-3) in San Jose was the third investor gathering in a series of Summits that are helping build global opportunities for seed and early stage investment in space-related commerce, expanding funding resources for entrepreneurial start-up and growing companies. SIS-3 followed the highly successful Summit 1, a gathering of national and international investment leaders in New York's City's financial district in April 2007 and Summit 2 (produced by the National Space Society as the Space Venture Finance Symposium) in Dallas in May 2007.

SIS-3 brought together not only leading investors but also industry representatives, entrepreneurs, and experts—all with the latest information about relevant investment opportunities in space commerce. In the context of SIS3, the term “space-related” had a very broad meaning, encompassing business activities: (1) in space; (2) enabled by space; (3) experiencing space—whether directly through physical presence or indirectly through multimedia; and (4) not yet involving space but on an incremental plan extending into space.

The SIS-3 agenda featured many investor speakers and facilitated: “first-look” updates on up-and-coming investment opportunities, an introduction to other investors as potential partners, and exchange of information about pre screened entrepreneurial companies. Although SIS-3 focused squarely on seed and early stage investment, the gathering also shared insights regarding how space related startups might maximize their likelihood of reaching subsequent stages of the investment pipeline.

Beyond the high-quality information presented, SIS-3 provided abundant time for interactive discussion and informal networking—the most important part of the experience. We invite you to review the fascinating record of a dialogue that proved to be both intensive and rewarding.