# Pierre-Damien Vaujour

> Pierre-Damien Vaujour is the co-founder and CEO of Loft Orbital, the San Francisco-based company that turned satellite deployment from a multi-year aerospace engineering odyssey into something closer to provisioning a cloud server. A French aerospace engineer by training — ISAE-SUPAERO class of 2008, master's from University of Michigan — he cut his teeth at ESA, NASA, the Google Lunar X PRIZE, and was among the first hires at Spire Global before co-founding Loft Orbital in 2017 with Alex Greenberg and Antoine de Chassy. Under his leadership, the company reached unicorn status in January 2025 with a $170M Series C, surpassed $500M in cumulative bookings, and is now building the default AI execution layer for orbital infrastructure.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Loft Orbital
- **Organizations:** Loft Orbital, Spire Global, X PRIZE Foundation, NASA, European Space Agency, Anewworld Group, Zelco.org, Orbitworks
- **From:** France
- **Nationality:** French
- **Education:** Aerospace Engineering, ISAE-SUPAERO, Master's in Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Certificate in Entrepreneurship, International Space University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Loft Orbital and grew it to unicorn status ($1B valuation) in January 2025, Surpassed $500M in cumulative bookings on $160M raised capital — exceptional capital efficiency, Secured $100M+ in US defense contracts including US Space Force and Department of Defense partnerships

## Career timeline

- **2007-2008** — System Engineer for Future Space Exploration at ESA/ESTEC
- **2008** — Space Projects & Communications Director at X PRIZE Foundation / Google Lunar X PRIZE
- **2010-2011** — Aerospace System Engineer at NASA Ames Research Center, Commercial Partnerships and Mission Design Center
- **2010-2011** — Co-founded Zelco.org
- **2011-2012** — Space Applications Business Development at Anewworld Group
- **2013-2016** — Data Product & Business Development at Spire Global — one of the first hires, company grew from 6 to 120+ employees
- **2017** — Co-founded Loft Orbital Solutions with Alex Greenberg and Antoine de Chassy
- **2019** — Loft Orbital begins booking launches; first customers include startups, government agencies, and international space programs
- **2021** — Loft Orbital launches first satellites (YAM-2 and YAM-3)
- **2022** — Selected by EarthDaily for $150M Earth observation constellation
- **2023** — Secured two $100M+ customers; Loft passes $500M lifetime bookings
- **2024** — Formed $100M joint venture with UAE-based Marlan Space to create Orbitworks — the Middle East's first private space infrastructure company
- **2025-01** — Loft Orbital raises $170M Series C led by Tikehau Capital; reaches unicorn status at ~$1B valuation

## Achievements

- Co-founded Loft Orbital and grew it to unicorn status ($1B valuation) in January 2025
- Surpassed $500M in cumulative bookings on $160M raised capital — exceptional capital efficiency
- Secured $100M+ in US defense contracts including US Space Force and Department of Defense partnerships
- Awarded NASA $45M RadPC project task order
- Created Orbitworks — the Middle East's first private space infrastructure company — via UAE joint venture
- Co-developing a CI/CD pipeline for space with Microsoft Azure
- Built Loft's proprietary 'Hub' modular payload adapter enabling plug-and-play satellite missions
- Was among the first hires at Spire Global, helping it scale from 6 to 120+ employees
- Worked at both ESA and NASA early in career, bridging European and American space sectors
- Certified zero-gravity flight coach through Zero-G Corporation

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Loft Orbital raises $170M Series C led by Tikehau Capital, reaching unicorn status at ~$1B valuation
- **2025-01** — Loft secures $100M+ in US defense contracts including US Space Force partnerships
- **2026-05** — Loft Orbital planning to launch 12 satellites in 2026, scaling to 10+ per year
- **2024** — Co-founded Orbitworks — a $100M joint venture with UAE's Marlan Space — becoming the Middle East's first private space infrastructure company

## Links

- Website: https://loftorbital.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vaujour
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/loftorbital
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCabYzXHvYM
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/loftorbital/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pierre-damien-vaujour
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-24