Senra, a startup founded by former SpaceX engineer Jordan Black, has secured $65 million in a Series B funding round to modernize the outdated wire harness industry. The investment, co-led by Lowercarbon and Interlagos, includes backing from heavyweights such as General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Founders Fund.
From Cold War Methods to Modern Production
Wire harnesses serve as the essential electrical nervous system for rockets, vehicles, and satellites. During his tenure at SpaceX, Black was tasked with scaling these components for the Starship program, an experience that exposed him to the industry’s stagnation. “I traveled all over the world to go visit wire harness companies,” Black told TechCrunch. “It really hasn’t changed since the Cold War era of wooden tables [and] manual processes.”
Black and co-founder Benjamin Shanahan launched Senra in 2023 to bridge this technological gap. By integrating software tools and strategic automation, the company aims to optimize the complex, labor-intensive craft of harness assembly.
Scaling for Defense and Aerospace
Senra is currently capitalizing on the renewed focus on U.S. industrial manufacturing, specifically within the defense sector. While client identities remain confidential, Black notes that their technology supports a wide range of critical hardware, including submarines, maritime vessels, land-based defense systems, launch vehicles, and satellites.
The necessity for such innovation is clear. In 2023, Boeing faced significant delays and costly redesigns for its Starliner spacecraft after discovering that its wiring was secured with flammable tape. Black emphasizes that this incident highlights the urgent need for standardized material tracking and engineering oversight.
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The “Digital Twin” Approach
Central to Senra’s operations is Amp, a proprietary software platform that creates a “digital twin” of the wiring process. This system standardizes inputs and guides technicians through assembly. To ensure quality, the company also operates the only federally certified wire harness training program in the country.
Adhering to the “Elon principle”—where automation is applied only after processes are fully understood and optimized—Senra is gradually introducing more robotic elements. Black credits this methodical approach for SpaceX’s ability to transition from building one rocket per year to hundreds. “We’re working on it now, but a lot of it [is] the standardization and the foundation building,” he explained.
Currently, Senra produces 1,000 harnesses monthly across two facilities. With this new capital, the startup plans to accelerate production capacity to 10,000 units per month by 2027.
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