Tesseract (YC S17) — Tesseract builds better thrusters for modern satellites
Tesseract is a provider of cost effective propulsion components and systems for in-space applications spanning commercial Earth-orbiting satellites, robotic exploration missions, and human spaceflight.
Tesseract is a Y Combinator company in the Summer 2017 batch. Its directory entry describes it as: Tesseract builds better thrusters for modern satellites. The founders listed are Erik Franks (Founder/CEO), Jeff Gibson (Founder/COO), Jake Teufert (Founder/CTO) (Y Combinator directory entry, May 3, 2017).
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Tesseract is a provider of cost effective propulsion components and systems for in-space applications spanning commercial Earth-orbiting satellites, robotic exploration missions, and human spaceflight.
Checked away from the directory entry. Neither line below comes from the company's Y Combinator page.
What We Do - Tesseract designs and builds spacecraft propulsion hardware. We supply off-the-shelf thrusters, which may be purchased individually, integrated into multi-thruster modules, or incorporated into a complete turnkey propulsion system as required. If you have unique requirements for your application, we can also supply custom design services and manufacturing.Safer, Low-Toxicity Propulsio
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Erik Franks
Founder/CEO
I have founded two startups and raised $2.3M, hired and managed 50 employee team, 5 customer satellites using our rockets to maneuver, won 20+ NASA contracts and competitions, and shipped 1.5M orders. I'm passionate about my work and want to make a positive difference for humanity.
Jeff Gibson
Founder/COO
Jake Teufert
Founder/CTO
Founders, titles and bios as the company published them. Photographs are our own copies of the ones on that record, so they do not break when the original link expires.
One of 70 companies held here in Industrials › Aviation and Space.
No investor is drawn from a Form D — the form states how many invested and never who. The one investor on this graph is named because a batch has exactly one.
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Example from a real report (our sample on Target): “In March 2026, Target announced a planned incremental $1 billion operating investment” Source: Target Corporation (press release)
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What the Full Report on Tesseract covers
The Short Answer
Which Company This Is
What They Do, And How The Money Works
Who Runs It, And How To Reach Them
The Money: Funding, Valuation, Runway
Who Pays Them, And Who They Are Up Against
Warning Bells
Sources
11 cited sources found
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