Mandala Space Ventures Hosts 2026 Space Founders & VCs Dinner in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA - Mandala Space Ventures brought together a curated group of high profile early-stage founders and institutional investors for our 2026 Space Founders & VCs Dinner- an intimate evening designed to spark the kind of connections that don't happen on a stage or in a pitch deck.

The dinner, held at Companion in Los Angeles, gathered members of the Mandala network for cocktails, candid founder spotlights, and a wonderful seated dinner built around real conversation rather than formal programming. There were no panels and no pitches, just the people building the emerging space economy, in the same room, connecting and collaborating.

For founders, the evening offered something harder to come by than a pitch slot: direct, friendly conversations with the institutional partners and operators who understand the realities of building in deep tech, all in an intimate setting. Rather than competing for two minutes on a stage, founders sat alongside investors and fellow builders for the length of a dinner- long enough to talk through real technical challenges, trade notes on go-to-market strategy, and make the kind of introductions that actually lead somewhere. Several attendees left with warm connections to potential investors, and even other founders solving adjacent problems.

For investors, the evening offered an unfiltered, well-vetted look at some of the most promising early-stage teams in the space and deep-tech sector- teams that have already been vetted through Mandala's diligence and proven industry expertise. Instead of a rehearsed pitch, VCs got founder spotlights that told the real story: what's working, what's hard, and what's next. That format opened the door to sharper, more informal diligence conversations, and gave investors a chance to compare notes with each other on where the sector is heading.

That mix is by design. Mandala's network spans founders, operators, and capital across the space economy, and events like this one exist to put the right people in the same room, create the conditions for real conversation, and then get out of the way. It's a small-scale, high-trust format and it's exactly why the community keeps coming back

In Their Own Words

"Thank you for hosting us in LA and for the introductions to other founders and investors; that was genuinely useful." - Founder

"I had a wonderful time meeting everyone - incredible founders as well as some very sharp investors. You have cultivated a wonderful community, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it." - VC

Special Thanks To Our Sponsors

This incredible evening wouldn't have been possible if not for sponsors. Mandala extends its thanks to JP Morgan and Hogan Lovells for their sponsorship of the evening. Their continued support of the Mandala network helps create the space for these conversations to happen.

Next Event Coming Fall 2026

The Space Founders & VCs Dinner is part of a growing series of Mandala-hosted events connecting the builders and backers of the emerging space economy. Given the overwhelming positive response, and incredible demand from all of you in the Mandala network- the next Mandala is already planned for this Fall. For anyone who wasn't able to attend the Founders & VCs dinner we hope to see you at future Mandala events down the line!

Details on the next event will be announced soon so stay tuned. In the meantime, those interested in joining the Mandala network at future events can reach out at [email protected].