Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Hits Space Industry

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has directly impacted a number of space companies who relied on it for investment, loans, and traditional banking services.

Silicon Valley Bank was renowned for its involvement with early-stage startups; with RocketLab, Astra, BlackSky, Planet, Redwire, and Space Perspective were among the many space companies that used SVB for traditional banking and/or investments and loans

Rocket Lab stated In a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 10th that its total cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities in SVB as of December 31, 2022 amounted to approximately $38 million, which represents roughly 7.9 percent of the company's balance.

AstraSpace filed with the SEC or March 13th saying that approximately 15 percent of its cash, along with letters of credit, were held at Silicon Valley Bank. AstraSpace also stated that it is actively pursuing the opening of deposit accounts with new banking partners to diversify its banking relationships.

SEC reports indicate that Astra, Planet, Redwire, and Rocket Lab repaid the loans obtained from Silicon Valley Bank when they went public via mergers with special purpose acquisition companies.

Redwire Chairman and CEO released a statement to its stakeholders, colleagues, and partners Monday morning stating " In light of recent events related to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), we are confirming that Redwire does not hold any assets in, maintain any deposit accounts with or have any liabilities to SVB. We remain focused on delivering critical space infrastructure for the next generation space economy across a diversified portfolio, driven by continued demand from our government customers in the civil and national security space sectors."

Silicon Valley Bank’s website was updated on March 13 saying depositors “will have full access to their money beginning this morning,” through the bridge bank (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp) that took over operations for Silicon Valley Bank.