Mark Matossian, a veteran of satellite operators and Earth imaging startups, co-founded Whipsmart Ventures this year alongside software executive Lylan Masterman and venture capitalist Judy Robinette. The fund targets space and deep tech companies navigating what investors call the "Valley of Death" -- the funding gap between proving early-stage technology and scaling commercially. Matossian drew on experience at Iceye, Terra Bella, and Lonestar Data to identify what he sees as underfunded middle-stage startups that need Series A capital.
Whipsmart focuses on companies with 10 to 20 employees that have passed prototype testing but lack proven product-market fit. Rather than spreading capital across many small investments, the fund plans to lead and co-lead rounds with substantial checks and board seats. Masterman framed the strategy as classical Series A investing, aiming to be the first call for founders when problems or opportunities arise.
The fund has identified seven technology areas for investment: position, navigation and timing systems; autonomous robotics and operations; real-time disaster and threat intelligence; regional and sovereign tech for defense and infrastructure; edge processing and orbital compute; distributed energy systems; and global broadband. Whipsmart will also consider companies outside these categories if they meet the fund's quality standards.
The timing reflects ongoing capital activity in space markets -- companies raised $7.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026 according to the Seraphim Space Index. Matossian noted that supporting quality startups through investment cycles matters, especially when market downturns force disciplined cash management among early-stage operators.