Arinna, a startup founded by Stanford PhDs Koosha Nazif and Alex Shearer, secured a $4 million seed round to develop next-generation space solar panels. The funding, led by SpaceCadet Ventures with participation from Anorak Capital and Breakthrough Energy Foundation, will support the production of ultrathin solar cells using a novel material. These panels, based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), aim to be significantly more efficient and durable than current space solar technology.

Arinna expects to begin orbital testing of its photovoltaic panels before year's end, targeting mass production at megawatt scale by 2028.