If you spent any part of the 2010s watching Disney Channel, you probably remember Bridgit Mendler as Teddy Duncan, the responsible older sister filming video diaries for her baby sibling. Or maybe you know her from "Lemonade Mouth" or that inescapable 2012 hit "Ready or Not."
But honestly? That version of Bridgit Mendler is basically ancient history.
Today, she’s sitting in a 35,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Torrance, California. She isn't there to film a music video. She’s there because she is the CEO and co-founder of Northwood Space, a satellite data startup that is currently trying to fix one of the most annoying bottlenecks in the entire aerospace industry.
The Reality of Northwood Space
There’s this weird misconception that Northwood Space is just a "celebrity vanity project." You’ve seen it before: an actor puts their name on a skincare line or a tequila brand and calls themselves a founder.
Northwood is nothing like that.
The company is tackling "the ground segment." If that sounds boring, that’s because it kind of is—until you realize it’s the reason your satellite data is currently slow and expensive. While companies like SpaceX are launching thousands of satellites (the "space segment"), the tech on the ground used to talk to those satellites is still stuck in the 1960s.
Basically, we have high-tech sports cars in orbit and a dirt road on the ground. Northwood Space wants to build the "data highway" that actually connects the two.
Why the "Ground Segment" is Broken
Most people think the hard part of space is the rocket launch. And yeah, exploding rockets are a problem. But the real headache for satellite operators is actually getting the data back down to Earth.
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- Custom Builds: Traditionally, if you want a ground station (those big satellite dishes), you have to custom-order it. It’s like buying a hand-tailored suit instead of something off the rack.
- Wait Times: It can take 18 months or more to get a site up and running.
- The Bottleneck: There are way more satellites in the sky than there are antennas to talk to them.
Mendler and her team—which includes her husband, CTO Griffin Cleverly, and Head of Software Shaurya Luthra—are mass-producing these ground stations. They’re building a modular system called "Portal." The goal is to be able to set up a site in days, not months.
The $36 Million Bet
Investors aren't throwing money at Mendler because they liked her acting. They’re doing it because the math makes sense.
By early 2025, Northwood Space had already raised over $36 million in funding. We’re talking about heavy hitters like Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz. These are the same people who backed SpaceX and Anduril. They don't do "celebrity fluff."
They are betting on the fact that Northwood isn't just building antennas; they are building a global network. Think of it like AWS (Amazon Web Services), but for space. Instead of a small company having to build their own multimillion-dollar antenna, they just "rent" time on Northwood’s network.
What happened during the first tests?
In late 2024, Northwood nailed its first major operational test. They connected a prototype antenna to Planet Labs satellites in orbit. It wasn't just a "ping." They achieved bidirectional links—meaning they could talk to the satellite and the satellite could talk back.
By July 2025, they announced that their production-ready terminal, Portal, passed its first round of operational tests. They’re now looking at global deployment.
Bridgit Mendler Isn't Just "The Face" of the Company
If you look at her resume, it’s actually kind of terrifying.
While the rest of us were binge-watching Netflix during the pandemic, Mendler was finishing a Master’s at MIT. Then she started a PhD at MIT and a JD at Harvard Law at the same time.
She spent time at the FCC’s Space Bureau. That’s where she reportedly "fell in love with space law." You don't just accidentally end up at the FCC’s Space Bureau. She’s been deeply embedded in the regulatory and technical side of this industry for years.
There’s a great story she told CNBC about how Northwood started. She and Griffin were literally building antennas out of "random crap" from Home Depot in their backyard in New Hampshire to see if they could receive data from NOAA weather satellites.
That is some classic garage-startup energy.
What This Means for the Future of Tech
The implications here are bigger than just "Disney star does good."
If Northwood Space succeeds in mass-producing ground stations, it lowers the barrier to entry for everything. Climate monitoring, global internet, disaster response—all of these rely on satellite data. If that data becomes cheaper and faster to access, the "space economy" moves from being a playground for billionaires to a functional utility for the rest of us.
The Next Steps for Northwood
- Scaling Production: They’ve moved into a massive facility in Torrance to start churning out Portal arrays.
- Global Sites: Expect to see Northwood "hubs" popping up in remote locations worldwide through 2026.
- The "Data Highway": Moving from simple telemetry (tracking) to high-bandwidth data transfers.
Actionable Insights for Observers
If you’re following this story, don't just look at it as a celebrity pivot. Look at it as a case study in infrastructure bottlenecks.
- Watch the Ground, Not the Sky: The next decade of space profit isn't in the rockets; it’s in the data. Keep an eye on companies solving the "last mile" of space communication.
- Follow the Funding: When a16z and Founders Fund double down on a Series A in this sector, it usually signals a shift from experimental tech to industrial scaling.
- Regulatory Knowledge is Power: Mendler’s background in space law is her secret weapon. In highly regulated industries like aerospace, knowing how to get licensed is just as important as knowing how to build the hardware.
Northwood Space is currently hiring, expanding, and building. It’s a very real, very technical company that is currently leading the charge in making space data actually usable for the 21st century.
Whether you're an investor or just someone who used to watch Disney Channel, it’s time to stop calling her a former actress. She’s a tech CEO, and she’s currently building the infrastructure that will likely power your GPS and weather apps in the very near future.
Strategic Focus for 2026:
To stay ahead of the curve in the space sector, monitor Northwood's international site deployments. As they move out of the "test phase" and into "global network phase," the real test will be their ability to manage data sovereignty laws across different borders—a challenge where Mendler’s Harvard Law background will likely be the company's greatest asset.