WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - Satellite manufacturer

Apex has raised $200 million to increase production and meet

surging demand for its configurable spacecraft platforms and in

hopes of snagging lucrative Golden Dome missile defense shields

contracts in the future, the company said on Tuesday.

Apex manufactures standardized satellite bus platforms from

which satellites can be built that can be more quickly deployed

compared to custom-built spacecraft.

"We're orientating the company to be the backbone platform

provider of Golden Dome - and associated capabilities," Apex CEO

Ian Cinnamon told Reuters.

While Apex does not have any contracts for Golden Dome,

companies are gearing up for the Pentagon to direct massive

funding toward one of President Donald Trump's priorities.

Last week, Reuters reported that Congress would earmark $27

billon to fund initial stages of Golden Dome including new

satellites and anti-ballistic missile interceptors.

The funding round was led by Point72 Ventures and co-led by

8VC, with participation from existing investor Andreessen

Horowitz and new investors Washington Harbour Partners and

StepStone Group ( STEP ). It brings Apex's total funding to over $300

million since its founding in 2022.

Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon told Reuters the company has seen

demand increase fivefold in the past 9-10 months. The Los

Angeles-based startup plans to use the new capital to ramp up

production at its 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility to a

maximum capacity of 12 satellite buses per month.

"We build satellites ahead of demand," Cinnamon said, "so if

you need one, it doesn't take years, it takes days or weeks." He

added that a significant portion of the funding will go towards

buying inventory components and building dozens of satellite

buses on speculation for various space programs.

Apex's customers include defense contractors, government

agencies and commercial satellite operators.