Raven Space Systems lands Forbes 30 Under 30 honor, re-entering spotlight after funding news
December 4, 2024 | Startland News Staff
One of Kansas City’s most promising startups of the year has seen its fortunes rocket to the skies over the past three weeks, capped by a high-profile honor in the national media: a spot on the coveted Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
“Building Raven Space Systems has been a very challenging journey and I am so grateful for the support of those around me,” said Ryan Cowdrey, who founded Raven in 2020 alongside Blake Herren to pioneer 3D printing for space exploration.
“Excited for the road ahead,” Cowdrey continued, joining Herren in thanking all the advisors, mentors, coworkers, friends, and family who helped the duo through the years.
Click here to see the Raven spotlight in Forbes.
Raven was lauded in the 2025 Manufacturing and Industry category for 30 Under 30.
The company — a LaunchKC winner in 2023 and one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 — uses 3D printed, light-weight, high heat-resistance thermoset composite components that can be used for such applications as reentry capsules for on-demand space cargo return.
Tuesday’s Forbes announcement came just weeks after the headline-grabbing Kansas City startup was profiled in the national tech publication TechCrunch and its founders announced a freshly won $1.8 million U.S. defense contract.
Click here to check out the TechCrunch feature on Raven.
ICYMI: KC-built Raven Space Systems awarded $1.8M contract via Air Force’s innovation arm
Fueled by its new funding, Raven is building aerospace-grade composite 3D printing smart factories that will drastically reduce lead times to days, lower the cost of critical components, and usher in a new era of composite manufacturing for the U.S. and its allies, Herren told Startland News previously.
The startup earlier this year received a patent for its Microwave Assisted Deposition (MAD) 3D printing innovation, as well as completing a $2 million pre-seed round.
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Ag tech firm Farmobile reaps big multi-million dollar investment
Agriculture company Farmoblie reaped substantial funding to accelerate development and distribution of its technology to collect data from farm machinery. The Kansas City-based firm snagged a $5.5 million Series A round of equity investment led by Amsterdam-based Anterra Capital. Founded in 2013, Farmoblie created a device — or Passive Upload Connection (PUC) — that plugs into…
Regional venture capital and why Valley firms moved to the Midwest
In this week’s regional roundup, we have the dish on everything you should know from regional venture capital and cyber security to building a company that survives a dynamic tech market. For more on this series, read our introduction. St. Louis Biz Journal: Big raises, new funds highlight year for venture capital in St. Louis Not only…
Events Preview: Happy Holidays!
There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW With the Holidays right around the corner, there are few events this week and next. Grab some egg nog and enjoy time…
Six Kansas City startups hop in the Digital Sandbox
Kansas City-based business incubator Digital Sandbox KC will offer financial support to six area firms working on a variety of tech projects. Digital Sandbox, which invests up to $25,000 in area businesses for specific projects that help the firms secure additional funding, has now supported 20 proof-of-concept projects in 2015. “We continue to be amazed…