Ready or not, Bridgit Mendler sets out to revolutionize the space industry.
The former Disney TV star and pop singer Monday announced that he co-founded Northwood Space, a startup that aims to bring satellite data from space back to Earth quickly and reliably.
“Vision is a data highway between Earth and space,” Mendler told CNBC.
According to Northwood Space’s website, the company is building infrastructure to “accelerate the mass adoption of satellite technology.”
Bridgit Mendler. Mike Coppola | Getty Images for Save The Children
Mendler, who serves as CEO of Northwood, says collecting data from space it’s getting easier along so many different dimensions but that the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult.
“You have trouble finding an access point to contact your satellite,” he told the outlet.
RELATED: Elon Musk is moving SpaceX headquarters to Texas — here’s why
Northwood is tackling this problem by turning to ground stations, which are the antennas that receive data from satellites, and trying to mass-produce them. The company wants to build ground stations quickly, in days, not months, so that space companies don’t have to build their own or wait more than a year to install and build the antenna.
Just as companies rent server space from Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure to avoid the high price associated with building their own servers, companies turn to Northwood to get data from space without owning or building their own ground stations.
“For me, the reason why landside is important is because it’s really about bringing the impacts of space home to people,” Mendler told CNBC.
Related: Every company has the potential to enter the space economy. That’s how.
Mendler initially rose to fame as a singer — her song “Ready or Not,” which samples the Fugees’ 1996 classic, has 225 million views on YouTube to date — and with starring roles on Disney Channel shows like “Good Luck , Charlie.” from 2010 to 2014 and “Wizards of Waverly Place” from 2009 to 2012.
After his Disney career, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 2016 and a master’s degree from MIT in 2020. From 2020 to 2024, he worked toward a Ph.D. from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School, according to his LinkedIn.
Mendler co-founded Northwood Space with her husband, Griffin Cleverly, who works as chief technology officer, and Shaurya Luthra, chief software officer. The team has already raised $6.3 million in seed funding from venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund and plans an initial test of its technology later this year.