The singer and actress Bridgit Mendler has appeared on the Disney Channel. She holds an anthropology degree from USC. Mendler also has a master’s degree from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School. She is in the process of working on a PhD at MIT. Mendler has also developed an avid interest in space law.
Along with Griffin Cleverly and Shaurya Luthra, Mendler has started a company called Northwood Space. Northwood Space aims to provide effective ground support for communication technology operating in space. The company received seed round funding of around $6 million in 2024. In 2025, Northwood Space raised $30 million through Series A investing. Northwood Space can now build its first set of ground stations.
About Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Mendler has been an actress and a singer. She is known to many from appearances on the Disney Channel. She has been in Wizards of Waverly Place and Lemonade Mouth. Bridgit Mendler also appears as an actress in The Clique and Good Luck Charlie. Mendler holds an anthropology undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she has received a master’s degree. She also graduated with a JD from Harvard Law School.
At MIT, Bridgit Mendler is now working on a PhD. She is working on her MIT studies with the Center for Communications and Social Machines. Mendler has become familiar with the Space Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. Through encountering the Space Bureau, Mendler developed a passion for space law.
About Northwood Space
Northwood Space was founded in 2022. Bridgit Mendler is one of the co-founders of Northwood Space. She is the company’s CEO. The other two co-founders are Griffin Cleverly and Shaurya Luthra. Cleverly is the Chief Technology Officer of Northwood Space. Luthra is Northwood Space’s Head of Software. El Segundo is the California location where Northwood Space is based.
According to CNBC, “Northwood’s name stems from a lake in New Hampshire.” Mendler explains that this lake is where she came up with the company’s concept. She and her family were at the lake while the COVID pandemic was happening. An activity the family engaged in was building antennas using whatever materials they could buy. With the antennas they built by the lake, they could receive satellite data. Bridgit Mendler is interested in the part of space-focused communication technology located on the ground. She states that the ground component brings “the impacts of space home to people.”
The Northwood website declares: “At Northwood, we’re building a… ground network from the ground up.” A technological space segment is a component of many technological innovations. For instance, a space segment is essential for the operation of GPS. Northwood wishes to fill the existing gap between ground and space support. More infrastructure on the ground could better support what is happening in space. Northwood wishes to bolster the ground components that support space components of communicative technology applications.
Fundraising Success
Northwood Space’s funding in a seed round of investment in 2024 was around $6 million. During a 2025 Series A round of investing, Northwood raised $30 million. According to Northwood, this funding effort was “led by Alpine Space Ventures and Andreesen Horowitz.” Other significant investors include StepStone, Founders Fund, and Also Capital. Humba Ventures, Banter Capital, Balerion Space Ventures, and Box Group also contributed.
Northwood Space’s Current Project
Northwood Space’s website states: “Ground stations today were designed for a different era.” Northwood Space aims to modernize space-communicating ground stations for greater effectiveness and collaboration. Funding from investors will be used by Northwood to create its initial working ground network. According to the website, this will be “a shared network of phased array ground stations.” The website describes these stations as comparable to cell towers. Just as cell towers provide service for phones, Northwood’s ground stations do this for satellites. The goal of the company is “always-on satellite connectivity.”
