Space-Eyes lines up board appointments ahead of SPAC listing

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Space-Eyes board appointments

Highlights

Space-Eyes will appoint Jim Reese, Terry Meguid, Harbir Singh, and Norm Christensen to its board ahead of its Nasdaq debut via SPAC merger.
The SPAC merger values the combined company at $638 million with an enterprise value of $370 million and $176 million anticipated from McKinley's trust account.
Space-Eyes generates around $1 million in annual revenue and could issue an additional $80 million in shares if targets are met post-listing.

Board buildout before Nasdaq debut

As first reported by Reuters, Space-Eyes plans to appoint retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jim Reese, former Morgan Stanley investment banking chief Terry Meguid, Wharton School professor Harbir Singh and aerospace entrepreneur Norm Christensen to its post-merger board, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The appointments are meant to deepen the company's expertise in national security, defense manufacturing, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate governance as it prepares to scale up. The people said the information is not yet public.

Space-Eyes said last month that it agreed to go public in the fourth quarter through a merger with special purpose acquisition company McKinley Acquisition Corp. The combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker CUAS, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, joined Space-Eyes in the second quarter as its third-largest investor and a strategic adviser. Company executives said in July that he helped introduce potential board candidates but would not serve on the board himself.

Valuation rests on defense growth expectations

Space-Eyes develops AI-powered geospatial intelligence and counter-drone technologies for governments and agencies, and has said it generates about $1 million in annual revenue. The company was created in 2001, and Singh has long served on its board.

The SPAC deal values the combined company at $638 million, including cash held by McKinley, and assigns an enterprise value of $370 million to the operating business. The valuation includes $80 million in shares that may be issued later if specified targets are met.

The transaction assumes McKinley's trust account contributes about $176 million in cash to the combined company. It also includes the first $12 million tranche of a planned private investment from outside investors, while Eric Trump's investment amount was not disclosed.

People close to the discussions said Reese spent 25 years in the U.S. Army, including service with the 75th Ranger Regiment and Delta Force. Meguid spent 25 years at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2005 to become a founding partner of Perella Weinberg Partners, while Christensen previously owned AAE Aerospace before its acquisition by Karman Space & Defense.

Our earlier roundup of startup financings tracked how investor interest in AI is increasingly flowing into real-world applications beyond software, including recycling operations, GPS-denied robotics, medtech devices and construction workflows. We highlighted several recent raises and noted broader data showing strong growth in funding for “physical AI,” underscoring how capital is backing AI systems tied to equipment, infrastructure and regulated environments.

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