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
Security firm Nodal nabs $100K, ramps up hiring
Good news is stacking up for Kansas City-based Nodal Industries. The security hardware tech company recently snagged $100,000 in seed funding as part of an opportunity to participate in the 500 Startup accelerator program, based in Mountain View, Calif. The funding will allow Nodal to hire up to eight people, as well as ramp up production…
Play-It Health lands in top-ranked digital health accelerator
As with many successful startups, the idea for Play-It Health was born out of personal experience with an unsolved industry need. Kim Gandy, a former clinician and now the founder and CEO of Play-It Health, recognized that patients were having trouble engaging and adhering to their medical regimen. In the worst cases, this led to…
LaunchKC, Techweek to welcome 10 tech firms to KC in style
In roughly four months, Kansas City will welcome a crop of tech startups bolstered by thousands of dollars in funding and a rockstar arrival. Kansas City’s LaunchKC competition — which aims to attract 10 tech firms to relocate to KC with $50,000 grants — has partnered with national tech conference Techweek to offer the winners…
New platform GUILDit offers art entrepreneurs visibility
A new program called GUILDit to promote and support art entrepreneurship is coming to Kansas City. The program is a bi-monthly gathering where art entrepreneurs take the stage to give six-minute presentations followed by questions and answers in the hopes of crafting a stronger Kansas City art economy, and to further connections between local artists.…