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EraDrive, a Stanford University spinoff focusing on satellite autonomy, has raised $5.3 million in an oversubscribed seed round. The company is developing a software-hardware module that utilizes vision and AI to enable satellites to autonomously perceive their surroundings.

Partnerships with defense contractors and satellite manufacturers aim to implement these modules across various satellite orbits. The funding led by Hackstack Ventures will accelerate development of hardware such as cameras and optics for space situational awareness.

EraDrive's modules will allow satellites to manage tasks like collision avoidance and rendezvous with minimal ground supervision. The long-term vision includes creating 'cognitive spacecraft' that can understand and respond to their environment using natural language commands.