Byline: Gregg Kell | Spotlight on Startups
The space economy crossed $626 billion in 2025 and is on a trajectory toward $1 trillion by the early 2030s. Satellites are proliferating. Commercial stations are being designed. Defense spending is accelerating. And yet, the fundamental question of how you reliably move cargo and critical resources once you’re in orbit remains largely unsolved.
That bottleneck — not the rockets, not the satellites, but the logistics layer between them — is where Murali Kandlagunta has spent his career, and it is the founding insight behind Antheom AI Inc.
“Space is hard,” Kandlagunta says. “At Antheom AI, we ask a different question: how can we make it a little easier?”
The answer, as the company frames it, is intelligent orbital logistics. Antheom AI, exhibiting at Space Tech Expo USA 2026 in Anaheim, is developing adaptive autonomous systems designed to reduce the time, cost, and complexity of cargo access, delivery, and replenishment in orbit. The company’s approach — supported by multiple patent applications — is built on the conviction that the companies and agencies that will define the next era of space are not the ones who can get to orbit, but the ones who can operate there efficiently once they do.
Why Getting to Space Is Now the Easier Problem
The commercial space industry has made remarkable progress on launch. Reusable rockets have driven down the cost of reaching orbit dramatically. But a persistent constraint has followed the industry upward: once assets are in orbit, logistics remains expensive, slow, and operationally complex.
The drivers are structural: rapid growth of mega-constellations is reshaping orbital infrastructure, in-space servicing and satellite life-extension technologies are emerging as a new market segment, and commercial launch cadence continues to accelerate.
“When logistics remain constrained by the limited payload mass and volume available inside launch vehicles, it becomes a constraint on growth. By dramatically reducing the time and cost of cargo access, delivery, and replenishment, space operations can become more routine, more sustainable, and ultimately more scalable.” — Murali Kandlagunta
The company’s thesis is that orbital logistics is to the space economy what supply chain infrastructure was to e-commerce: the invisible layer that determines whether the whole system can scale.
A Founder Shaped by ISRO, NASA, and a Childhood Watching Rockets Launch
Kandlagunta’s path to founding Antheom AI is not the story of a software entrepreneur who pivoted to space. It is the story of someone who grew up inside the industry and spent decades building technical credibility within it.
He grew up in proximity to India’s space program, ISRO, where his father worked. As a child, he witnessed rocket launches firsthand — an experience that set the trajectory for everything that followed.
“The vision I’ve held since I first watched rockets launch as a child was to contribute to the advancement of the space industry, just as my father did.” — Murali Kandlagunta
That vision was refined over more than 15 years as a NASA contractor, including work on the SOFIA airborne observatory and later Voyager StarLab, the commercial space station effort.
“Across that journey I worked alongside talented teams on complex aerospace challenges. I admired entrepreneurs and founders who were willing to take risks to build something meaningful, and starting my first company taught me lessons that can only be learned through experience.” — Murali Kandlagunta
What Antheom AI Is Building — and Why AI Is the Enabling Layer
Antheom AI develops adaptive robotic systems for defense, commercial aerospace, and space frontier domains. In practical terms, the company’s thesis is that the orbital logistics problem is not purely a hardware problem — it is an intelligence problem.
“Antheom AI’s innovative logistics approach, supported by multiple patent applications, is focused on making logistics more responsive and more scalable for space operators.” — Murali Kandlagunta
The global on-orbit satellite servicing market is projected to grow from $4.67 billion in 2025 to $12.60 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 10.43%, confirming that commercial appetite for what Antheom AI is building is real and growing.
The Partnership Strategy: Why Logistics Companies Build Ecosystems, Not Products
Kandlagunta is explicit that Antheom AI’s go-to-market is built around partnerships, not standalone product sales.
“History has shown that those who build the underlying logistics and supply chain infrastructure often create tremendous value for entire industries. We believe space will be no different. The future of space will be built through partnerships.” — Murali Kandlagunta
The target partner landscape is broad: launch providers, space stations, satellite operators, in-space service providers, defense organizations, and commercial space companies.
The global space economy is expected to cross the $1 trillion mark between 2032 and 2034, driven by satellite broadband mega-constellations, declining launch costs, and defense spending. A company positioned as the logistics layer enabling that ecosystem captures value across the entire stack.
Why 2026 Is a Pivotal Year for Orbital Logistics
Several structural forces are converging in 2026 to make orbital logistics more urgent than ever. In March 2025, the U.S. Space Force awarded $13.7 billion in launch contracts covering 54 missions through 2029, signaling sustained acceleration that will strain existing logistics frameworks. Commercial station programs are advancing toward operational timelines. And the defense community’s growing dependence on space-based assets has elevated orbital logistics to a national security priority.
“The greatest opportunity lies in reducing the time, cost, and complexity of space operations and missions. If you’re looking to reduce the time and cost associated with cargo access, delivery, and replenishment in space, come talk to us.” — Murali Kandlagunta
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Antheom AI do? Antheom AI develops intelligent autonomous systems for orbital logistics — focused on reducing the time, cost, and complexity of cargo access, delivery, and replenishment in space. The company’s approach, supported by multiple patent applications, is designed to make space operations more responsive and scalable across defense, commercial, and scientific mission categories.
What is orbital logistics and why does it matter for the space economy? Orbital logistics refers to the movement, delivery, and replenishment of cargo and resources in orbit. As space activity scales — with mega-constellations, commercial stations, and in-space manufacturing — efficiently moving assets between orbital positions becomes a binding constraint on everything else. The space logistics market is projected to grow from $7.42 billion in 2025 to over $17 billion by 2030.
Who is Murali Kandlagunta and what is his background? Murali Kandlagunta is the founder of Antheom AI and a veteran of more than 15 years as a NASA contractor, including work on the SOFIA airborne observatory and the Voyager StarLab commercial space station program. He grew up adjacent to India’s ISRO space program, where his father worked.
What kinds of partnerships is Antheom AI seeking at Space Tech Expo 2026? Antheom AI is targeting strategic partnerships with launch providers, space stations, satellite operators, in-space service providers, defense organizations, and commercial space companies at Space Tech Expo USA 2026. The logistics-focused model is designed to enable — rather than compete with — the broader space ecosystem.
How does AI enable orbital logistics in a way traditional approaches cannot? Orbital logistics requires real-time navigation, decision-making, and adaptation in an environment where communication delays, dynamic orbital mechanics, and the absence of on-site human operators make full autonomy a necessity. AI-driven systems can evaluate orbital conditions, adjust trajectories, and execute delivery operations with the speed and reliability mission-critical applications demand.
What markets does Antheom AI serve? Antheom AI’s systems are designed for defense, commercial aerospace, and space frontier applications — positioning the company as mission-critical infrastructure rather than a product serving a single vertical. Defense and government space sectors represent the most immediate opportunity.
The Open Question: Can a Logistics-First Space Startup Win Before the Market Demands It?
The space logistics market is real, growing, and structurally important. The question Antheom AI is betting its existence on is one of timing: is 2026 early enough to establish the partnerships and demonstrate the technology that will make the company indispensable when orbital logistics becomes a daily operational priority?
Kandlagunta’s answer is implicit in the company’s founding thesis. He is not building toward a future where orbital logistics matters — he is building from the conviction that it matters now, and that the companies who establish credibility before the demand becomes acute will define the infrastructure layer of the space economy.
“Space is hard. Our mission is to make it a little easier.” — Murali Kandlagunta
That framing is deceptively modest. The opportunity it describes is not modest at all.
About Murali Kandlagunta Murali Kandlagunta is the Founder of Antheom AI Inc., an intelligent autonomy company developing orbital logistics systems for defense, commercial aerospace, and space frontier applications. He brings more than 15 years of NASA contracting experience, including work on the SOFIA airborne observatory and the Voyager StarLab commercial space station program.
Spotlight on Startups (https://spotlightonstartups.com) publishes founder profiles, market analysis, and company spotlights for operators, investors, and buyers navigating emerging sectors. This profile is part of the Founder Spotlight Studio series.