From Workshop to Orbit: Griffin Cleverly, Engineer and Family Man

Basic Information

Life, Career, and Family: a compact portrait

From engineer’s bench to startup labs

Griffin Cleverly’s public profile reads as a steady arc from rigorous engineering training to hands-on aerospace entrepreneurship. Trained as a mechanical engineer at UCLA (with subsequent advanced studies reported in electrical and computer engineering), he combines mechanical instincts with electrical systems thinking — the pragmatic crossroad where hardware meets code. That combination is the soil from which Northwood Space grew: a startup focused on ground-station and antenna solutions for satellite communications, where Cleverly serves as CTO and technical cofounder.

The leap from coursework to co-founder is not theatrical; it is methodical. Designs are prototyped, test rigs built, and iterations logged. In start-up terms, Griffin occupies the role that turns a mission statement into a physical product: schematics into antennas, simulations into radio links. He is the technical half of a small founding team that also includes his spouse, who serves as CEO, and another cofounder — a partnership that blends public storytelling and celebrity reach with engineering skill and product development.

Family life woven with public moments

Griffin’s private life became more publicly visible when he married Bridgit Mendler in October 2019. Their wedding was intimate, shared with followers on social media, and staged as a family event rather than a celebrity spectacle. The couple began fostering a young child in 2021 and completed an adoption in late 2022, a decision that reshaped their household and public persona: they are engineers and entrepreneurs who are also parents, and their family choices feature in their shared media narrative.

Beyond the milestones, Griffin’s family footprint in the public record is modest. Profiles focus on his partnership with Mendler and their joint ventures; details about his extended family and early life have not been widely published. He appears often in the context of collaborative posts: lab snapshots, family moments, and occasional glimpses of the day-to-day life of a startup CTO who is simultaneously a husband and a father.

Northwood Space: product, funding, and role

Northwood Space positions itself in the fast-moving layer where satellite payloads meet ground infrastructure. As CTO, Griffin is the technical steward — responsible for architecture, prototype development, and translating investor expectations into demonstrable hardware and software. The company’s public funding milestones include a reported seed round in 2024 (widely cited at $6.3 million), followed by additional investor interest noted in 2025; such capital surges are signals that the product roadmap has attracted backers who see market potential.

To be CTO of an early-stage satellite communications startup is to balance long development cycles with short investor timelines. It is iterative work: build, test, fail, learn, repeat. Griffin’s engineering background, anchored in mechanical and electrical domains, lends itself to that push-and-pull rhythm. He is portrayed publicly as the technical lead while his spouse plays the CEO role, creating a complementary dynamic between technical craft and strategic outreach.

Public presence and social traces

Griffin’s visibility is largely co-created with Bridgit Mendler. Social media shows photos from family life and work life: prototypes in a lab, candid wedding photos, and shared parenting moments. Press coverage that looks at Northwood often profiles both founders, casting Cleverly as the quiet technical partner to Mendler’s more public face. This pairing gives the company a recognizably human narrative — celebrity reach plus engineering credibility — which has proven useful in attracting media interest and investor attention.

Financial snapshot and professional limits

There is no independently verified public figure for Griffin Cleverly’s personal net worth. Company funding rounds give a partial picture of Northwood’s valuation trajectory and investor confidence, but converting startup capital into personal wealth involves many variables — equity splits, vesting, subsequent fundraising, and exit events — none of which are publicly disclosed in precise terms. What is clear: the startup has drawn meaningful seed investment and expanded its backing, and Griffin’s technical leadership is central to the company’s product development and investor pitch.

Timeline of notable dates

FAQ

Who is Griffin Cleverly?

Griffin Cleverly is an engineer and entrepreneur who serves as Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Northwood Space, and he is married to former Disney actress and current CEO Bridgit Mendler.

What is his educational background?

Profiles report he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from UCLA (class of 2014 cited) and later completed an advanced engineering degree in electrical and computer engineering.

What does Northwood Space do?

Northwood Space develops ground-station and antenna technologies for satellite communications, aiming to improve how satellites send and receive signals to Earth.

What is Griffin’s role at Northwood?

As CTO and technical cofounder, he leads product engineering, system architecture, and prototype development for the company’s communications hardware and software.

When did he marry Bridgit Mendler?

Griffin married Bridgit Mendler in October 2019 in a private beach ceremony.

Do they have children?

Yes; the couple began fostering a young boy in 2021 and completed his adoption in late 2022.

Is there public information about his net worth?

No definitive personal net-worth figure is publicly documented; company funding rounds provide context for the startup’s financial traction but not for individual wealth.

How visible is he on social media?

Griffin’s public presence is modest and largely shared through Bridgit Mendler’s social media accounts, which show both professional and family moments.