Zenno Astronautics is leaving Auckland for Los Angeles. The New Zealand startup, which builds superconducting magnetic systems for spacecraft, announced plans to redomicile to the United States after successfully demonstrating its core technology in orbit this June.
Why Move?
The answer is straightforward: customers, capital, and talent are all concentrated in Southern California. "It is obvious that most of the global space industry, both commercial and defense, as well as global venture capitalists are here," CEO and co-founder Max Arshavsky said from Los Angeles, where he was already scouting office and production spaces.
Arshavsky co-founded Zenno in 2017 with Sebastian Wieczorek on the premise that high-temperature superconductors could revolutionize spacecraft attitude control and radiation shielding. The company's Z01 Supertorquer, a superconducting magnetic actuator, flew aboard Impulse Space's Mira satellite in June. Arshavsky calls it "the world's first and most capable magnetic stabilization system for satellites," and says it is now commercially ready.
The Timeline
Zenno expects to have a U.S. production facility running by September or October, capable of manufacturing at a scale impossible in New Zealand. The company plans to grow its American workforce and deepen ties with aerospace firms, government agencies, and universities in the region.
"When you look at the map of aerospace companies, they're insanely dense here in Los Angeles," Arshavsky said. "I have full confidence that we can make it work here."
The Bigger Picture
Zenno's technology relies on the fact that space offers "an unlimited amount of energy." The company's vision is to build systems that use those resources rather than hauling everything from Earth. While early applications focus on Earth orbit, Arshavsky sees the platform enabling lunar infrastructure and cislunar logistics.
The company raised 10.5 million New Zealand dollars ($6.12 million) in a 2022 seed round and received additional funding in 2024 from Mitsubishi Electric Corp.'s Innovation Fund. The move to Los Angeles signals that Zenno is transitioning from development to commercial deployment, betting that proximity to the world's densest aerospace cluster will accelerate that shift.