Participated · Seed · Jun 2026

Applied Atomics is building an AI-defined alternating multimode propulsion system intended to enable a new class of space mobility and logistics. The company’s flagship concept is the Star Reacher Network, an in-space mobility architecture meant to treat movement and logistics as a network rather than single-vehicle missions. Applied Atomics says its multimode power processing unit (PPU) has been delivered and integrated for an upcoming on-orbit demonstration mission, which was announced at the UK Parliament and is en route to orbit. The founding team pairs technical expertise—Theo Saunders’ plasma physics research at Queen Mary University of London and Ashley Modeste Johnson’s aerospace engineering background—with commercial experience from John Auburn, who helped scale Astroscale in the UK. Applied Atomics announced an oversubscribed $4M pre-seed round led by Oxford Science Enterprises and supported by a mix of venture and strategic backers. The company highlights partnerships and advisory relationships with industry and institutional programs including NATO DIANA, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, Seraphim Space Accelerator, ESA BIC UK, the UK Space Agency accelerator, and NVIDIA Inception as it advances toward deploying its demo and scaling the Star Reacher network.