Bridgit Mendler is the CEO and co-founder of Northwood Space. Host Erik Torenberg asked whether Starlink's direct optical intersatellite links threaten Northwood's ground station network.
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More from Bridget Mendler
AssertionSupported
Mendler: The U.S. government has launched satellite missions without ground plans
“Literally there have been a bunch of missions that have been launched with no ground plan.”
Bridget MendlerMar 23, 2026▶ 32:23Inside The $100M Bet on the Future of Space | Northwood CEO on a16z
Insight
Mendler: Fixing space ground infrastructure requires full vertical integration
“And so really the only way to address fixing the ground segment was to do the whole thing.”
Bridget MendlerMar 23, 2026▶ 8:12Inside The $100M Bet on the Future of Space | Northwood CEO on a16z
AssertionOpen · timeframe Mar 2029
Northwood designs ground antennas to deploy on dirt without concrete foundations
“We need our antennas to fit in a standard shipping container that can go on a commercial United Airlines flight. And So it gets there the same day. We need our system to be able to fork off of that shipping container and land on a patch of dirt with no concret…”
Bridget MendlerMar 23, 2026▶ 14:34Inside The $100M Bet on the Future of Space | Northwood CEO on a16z
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Mendler: Space networking could become as fundamental as cellular networks
“And so I think when the problem set around space networking came up, and when that was something that I started digging into, it connected on that deeper level where it's like, wow, this is something, like an opportunity to make an impact on an industry that c…”
Bridget MendlerMar 23, 2026▶ 4:22Inside The $100M Bet on the Future of Space | Northwood CEO on a16z
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Mendler: Building and launching satellites is faster than connecting them
“So, you know, you could build a satellite and launch it faster than you could actually connect with it from the ground, which just seemed absurd.”
Bridget MendlerMar 23, 2026▶ 7:15Inside The $100M Bet on the Future of Space | Northwood CEO on a16z
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Northwood serves commercial, government, and allied space missions on one platform
“We're accounting for commercial missions, government missions, Allied missions all within the same system and that makes our costs lower and more efficient.”
Bridget MendlerMar 23, 2026▶ 17:13Inside The $100M Bet on the Future of Space | Northwood CEO on a16z
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