Former Disney star launches startup to build a “data highway between Earth and space”

Former Disney Channel star and singer Bridgit Mendler has launched a startup that will build a network of satellite ground stations (antennas) on the Earth that connect and send information to satellites in space.

As CEO of Northwood Space, Mendler will head the company as it works to mass-produce ground stations to facilitate the enormous amount of data being sent as the space industry continues to expand.

Describing her vision for her company as a “data highway between Earth and space,” the 31-year old star of television series including Good Luck Charlie, Undatable and Merry Happy Whatever believes that ground architecture has not adequately changed to meet the needs of the increasing number of satellites launched into space over the past few decades.

“Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult,” Mendler told CNBC. “You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite.”

Mendler purportedly came up with the idea for Norwood during the pandemic, when she and her family received data from [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] satellites — which piqued her interest.

“While everybody else was making their sourdough starters, we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot … and receiving,” Mendler said.

“For me, why the ground-side matters is because it actually is about bringing the impacts of space home to people.”

In 2022, she worked at the Federal Communications Commission’s Space Bureau in the Satellite Division Policy Branch, where she “fell in love with space law.”

She obtained her Master’s degree and PhD from MIT and is currently studying for a Doctor of Law at Harvard Law School, where she was co-president of the Harvard Space Law Society between 2022-2023.

Based in El Segundo, California, Northwood Space’s co-founders include Mendler’s husband, Griffin Cleverly, and space software engineer Shaurya Luthra, as head of software.

Northwood has already secured US$6.3 million in initial funding from investors such as Founders Fund (founded by Peter Thiel), Andreessen Horowitz, Long Journey Ventures, and Also Capital.

Expect the unexpected!

So excited to announce our $6.3M seed led by @foundersfund and @a16z with participation from @CapitalAlso, @LongJourneyVC , @BoxGroup, @humbavc

At @NorthwoodSpace we have our sights on building a data highway between earth and space. We are designing… https://t.co/JwtEuTOTJI

— Bridgit Mendler (@bridgitmendler) February 19, 2024

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.