California space station startup Vast cuts jobs after $500 million funding round as crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb’s company races to replace ISS

California-based space station startup Vast has cut 46 employees, or about 4% of its workforce, even as the company backed by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb pushes ahead with plans to build a commercial replacement for the International Space Station. The layoffs come just months after Vast secured $500 million in funding and as competition in the new space race intensifies.

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California space startup Vast confirms 46 layoffs

Vast, the California-based space startup founded in 2021 by crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb, confirmed that it had eliminated 46 positions as part of its mid-year review cycle, according to a report in Business Insider. A company spokesperson said the layoffs were performance-related, while emphasizing that Vast continues to expand its workforce.


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“As part of our mid-year review cycle, Vast parted ways with employees who were not meeting expectations. We are backfilling these positions and are continuing to grow and execute,” the spokesperson said.

The company said it currently has 277 open roles, suggesting that the job cuts are not part of a broad workforce reduction. However, two employees affected by the layoffs told Business Insider that they had not been warned about concerns regarding their work. They said no issues had been raised about their performance or output during recent one-on-one meetings with managers or performance reviews.

Vast layoffs come after $500 million funding

The Vast layoffs are notable because they arrive only months after the company announced a $500 million funding round designed to accelerate development and production of its Haven space stations.

The company is competing in an increasingly crowded commercial space industry, with multiple private companies seeking to build the next generation of space stations before the International Space Station is retired.

Vast is preparing to launch Haven-1, its first space station, in 2027 aboard a SpaceX rocket. The company ultimately wants to develop Haven-2, a larger modular station designed to accommodate up to 12 people and eventually serve as part of the commercial infrastructure that succeeds the ISS.

Crypto billionaire Jed McCaleb's Vast has ambitious space plans

McCaleb, who founded Vast in 2021, is best known for his involvement in the cryptocurrency industry. His wealth has helped provide Vast with significant financial backing as it pursues an ambitious expansion into space infrastructure.

The company's long-term vision goes beyond simply replacing the International Space Station. Vast wants to eventually develop space stations capable of rotating in orbit to create artificial gravity, a concept that could fundamentally change how humans live and work in space.

The company has also expanded beyond space stations into satellite manufacturing and recently reached an agreement with the European Space Agency to support missions involving European astronauts traveling to the ISS.

Commercial space station race heats up

Vast is one of several companies attempting to develop commercial space stations as NASA prepares for the eventual retirement of the ISS, which is expected to be deorbited in 2030.

The transition has created a new race among private space companies to develop orbital platforms capable of supporting astronauts, research and commercial activities.

NASA's plans for the post-ISS era have also faced uncertainty. The agency proposed a new strategy in March centered around a "core module" that commercial space stations could connect to, but withdrew the proposal in June following criticism from across the space industry.

For Vast, the latest layoffs come at a crucial point. The company is simultaneously reducing some positions, hiring for hundreds of others and preparing for major space station milestones. Its ability to execute those plans could determine how it fares as the commercial space station race accelerates.