TAMPA, Fla. — GITAI has created a defense-focused subsidiary at its Torrance, California headquarters to pursue prime contractor roles in U.S. government contracts, the space robotics specialist announced April 8.
The company already designs and builds robotic arms, satellites and rovers entirely within the country under GITAI USA, after relocating headquarters from Japan in 2023, and has secured contracts from government agencies such as DARPA.
However, the majority of GITAI USA’s shares are still owned by Japanese citizens and Japanese venture capital firms.
To comply with Department of Defense and NASA requirements that prime contractors be majority-owned or controlled by U.S. citizens or permanent residents, the new defense subsidiary was structured under a U.S.-based voting trust.
GITAI Defense and Space, set up in March, is 51% owned by the U.S. trust company and 49% by GITAI USA, specifically to focus on prime contracts for national security missions.
“We are closely observing the increasing focus on space defense capabilities under the current U.S. administration,” GITAI founder and CEO Sho Nakanose said via email.
“In particular, we aim to contribute to missions involving low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations and on-orbit servicing, leveraging our proprietary satellites and robotic arm-equipped spacecraft developed in-house.”
In January, GITAI announced it had successfully demonstrated its first internally developed satellite in LEO, marking a significant step toward more advanced spacecraft designed for servicing and construction in space.
The company said the 20-kilogram, 16U-sized satellite, which SpaceX launched in December, successfully completed all testing objectives, including capturing and transmitting image and video data.
Nakanose said its product portfolio will be broadened with 50-kilogram and 200-kilogram satellite platforms to meet growing demand for constellation deployments.
In addition to defense-focused initiatives, GITAI is working on developing robotic servicing technologies for in-orbit maintenance and assembly for commercial ventures. The company is also involved in lunar exploration, having recently completed a concept study for a robotic arm designed for Japan’s proposed crewed lunar rover.
