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
Postmates launches on-demand delivery service in KC
Postmates is coming to Kansas City. Well, technically the San Francisco-based company is already here. The Kansas City area is one of 10 metros the on-demand delivery service is officially launching in on Sept. 17, but for those who have heard of Postmates and downloaded the app, the service is live. Similar to Uber, Postmates is organized through…
KC joins national STEM Ecosystem program
Kansas City was named one of 27 communities to pilot a national program aimed to boost the area science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, ecosystem. There are still many unknowns following the announcement as community leaders involved wait for further direction from the STEM Ecosystem Initiative, but Science Pioneers executive director LeAnn Smith said…
Events Preview: Techweek highlights
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 Coding & Cupcakes When: September 12 @ 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Where: Sprint Accelerator Mothers and daughters are invited to attend sessions…
Cisco makes KC Smart City leadership change
The local man leading Cisco’s efforts with Kansas City’s Smart City project is moving on to a startup firm. Isaiah Blackburn, chief strategist for Connected and Innovative Kansas City, has departed Cisco to serve as chief strategy officer at Xaqt, a Kansas City-based data analytics firm, according to a report from the Kansas City Business Journal.…