Northwood Closes $100 Million Series B Funding Round

Northwood closed a $100 million Series B funding round, @FortuneMagazine reported. Bridgit Mendler, cofounder and CEO of the space startup, discussed the round and her background at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen this week. Mendler said her path from child actor to space CEO reflects a common requirement in both fields.

“I actually think my background is very traditional when it comes to space CEOs because they tend to just have a very high tolerance for risk,” she said. ” She began acting at age 11 and faced repeated rejection, including an unsuccessful 2007 audition for the lead role in Disney’s Sonny With a Chance. Mendler said the pattern of hearing no prepared her for the odds of entrepreneurship.

“I think a lot of space CEOs—they’re confronting enormous odds working against them to have success,” she said. During her Disney years she enrolled at the University of Southern California to study anthropology but left in 2016. Two years later she applied to MIT’s master’s program without an undergraduate degree or coding experience.

She later took courses toward an MIT PhD and graduated with a JD from Harvard Law School in 2024. Mendler cofounded Northwood in 2023. She said the space sector is moving beyond its earlier niche status.

“For a long time, the space economy has existed, but it’s been pretty niche,” she said. “The economics are switching.