Founders Everywhere: Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall is the co-founder and CEO of Rebel Space Technologies, a platform that offers enhanced observability and cybersecurity for modern space systems.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Space is not just a frontier—it’s a battleground for security, communication, and defense. As threats grow and reliance on space-based systems increases, traditional security approaches can’t keep up. Rebel Space Technologies specializes in delivering AI-powered software solutions for security, observability, and trusted autonomy in modern air and space operations. The Rebel Space platform helps humans and machines work together to protect against cyber threats. It gives real-time insights into how communications are working and whether there are any issues or threats. This helps keep systems running smoothly, reduces the workload on operators, and enhances operational security for air and space operators.
Carrie Marshall is the co-founder and CEO of Rebel Space. She is an engineer with over two decades of experience in the defense and aerospace industries, including roles in the US Air Force, SpaceX, and Slingshot Aerospace. Her career took a pivotal turn when she teamed up with her son, Gabriel Hernandez to co-found Rebel Space. Gabriel graduated with a degree in physics from UC Santa Barbara and he developed a deep interest in autonomous systems. His passion for applying AI and machine learning to space operations led to him joining as the CTO. Their shared vision, complementary skills, and some might say, their genes, have created a powerful partnership that has driven the successful launch and growth of Rebel Space. Carrie shares more about how they are focused on developing and deploying cutting-edge software to address the most challenging problems in space and cyber domains.
Why Rebel Space and why now?
I started in the Air Force as an Intel specialist in the '90s, where I was assigned to learn Mandarin but found myself more drawn to signals and systems. After earning an electrical engineering degree, I rejoined the military post-9/11 and ended up in space launch, which led me into exploring how space and cybersecurity interact. In 2014, I joined SpaceX, expecting cutting-edge security, but quickly realized that even space systems weren't as secure as I thought, which sparked the idea for Rebel Space.
What is Rebel Space’s North Star?
Our North Star is using AI to autonomously monitor and react to complex environments, whether it's threats in space or on the ground. We’re entering an era where communication systems, safety, and security are deeply intertwined. Advancing technology brings new challenges, requiring systems to coexist much more peacefully, while adapting to emerging threats.
How does Rebel Space inspire “customer love”?
We address critical needs in both defense and commercial sectors. Government and defense clients rely on us to uncover unknown threats and maximize resources amid growing geopolitical challenges. On the commercial side, we help businesses secure government contracts through enhanced cybersecurity while also optimizing operations to save money and reduce manual oversight. Our clients value our ability to improve efficiency, strengthen security, and enable them to do more with fewer resources.
Tell us about a recent milestone Rebel Space crushed.
We recently deployed Stargazer, our AI-powered platform for space system observability and cybersecurity, at a major commercial satellite operations teleport—marking the first operational deployment for Rebel Space. This milestone not only expands our impact in the commercial sector, but also delivers much-needed insight into the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum threat environment, where visibility has traditionally been limited. By producing autonomous, edge-based RF analytics, this deployment provides a powerful demonstration to the Space Force Joint Commercial Operations Center of how domain awareness can be achieved in real time—particularly across critical communication links.
To accelerate our progress, we secured a TACFI (Tactical Funding Increase). With this funding, we’re now focused on scaling Stargazer’s capabilities and pursuing strategic opportunities across the Department of Defense.
What have been some of the greatest challenges in building Rebel Space?
We've been a first mover in a niche area that many aren't familiar with, requiring patience, stamina, and strategic timing. Our technology is on the line between hard and deep tech, which can be difficult. But, the biggest hurdle has been convincing others that this shift is coming—and we’re ready.
Any books you recommend?
The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson was impactful for me as a startup founder and engineer. It helped bridge the gap between the analytical and human aspects of sales, making it easier to navigate the sales process from a tech background.
Fun fact:
I do oil and acrylic paintings, and my specialties are space themed paintings and pet portraits.
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