The Rise of the Megacorporation
Many of the Galaxy’s current corporations started off as “simple” pre-expansion businesses with connections to various government organizations. As galactic beauracracies like the Orion Confederation reached the extent of their ability to provide for outbound colonists, more and more incentives were provided for corporations to pick up the slack. Government subsidies and intense market pressure on the Frontier quickly resulted in a manner of capitalistic Cambrian Explosion, and a variety of corporations popped into existence on the edges of inhabited space, eager to stake their claim. Many of the organizations sourced for the logistical support of early human colonies exist today as brands with immense name recognition.
The Orion Confederation, recognizing that the private sector could offset the massive debt and logistical nightmare it was embroiled in, ceded rights to self-governance to the Frontier colonies in 2274. Although on paper these rights were granted to the former Confederation colonies, in reality the provisions gave corporations based on the Frontier carte blanche to rule and develop their claimed sectors with total autonomy. The corporations on the Frontier took to this new state of affairs with gusto. Over the following decades entire systems would change hands as corporations made purchases or established colonies, only to be absorbed or dismantled by their competitors. By the turn of the century, no less than three “Megacorporations” had developed. By 2310, that number had grown to fifty.
Over the following decades, as with all such evolutionary events, the diverse landscape was slowly whittled down into the most streamlined and viable forms. Many of the proto-Megacorporations faded away into obscurity, or were merged into more successful businesses. Nearly every known brand on the market today emerged as one of the victors of this corporate arms race, which still rages on to this day, albeit in a more formalized and subtle fashion.
In 2564, to live and work on the Frontier is to live and work under one of the galaxy’s Megacorporations. Long established, efficient, and almost completely self-sufficient, each Megacorp is a company in name only. In reality, these organizations have long since become governments in their own rights. For the average citizen, working for a Megacorporation is nearly indistinguishable from living in a formal government’s boundaries, and often times employees of the Megacorps enjoy a more advanced and stable existence. In exchange, of course, they owe their soul to the Company store, and not all jobs are without their risks. On the Frontier, the Corporations write and enforce their own laws, and full-scale armed conflicts between Megacorps, although rare, are a fact of life.
Local Active Corporations
The Galaxy, it goes without saying, is vast. It is not hard to imagine that there are as many corporations as there are inhabited planets. However, this list does not exist to catalogue every extant corp or Megacorp. Instead, this list is the most up to date “Who’s Who” of local business groups the average NanoTrasen employee based in the Sigmar Concord might expect to encounter on a day to day basis. Without a doubt, evidence of other corporations will be present in many forms – prosthetic limbs, branding on clothes or equipment, or even food and snacks.
Aether Atmospherics and Recycling
One of the orginal “Proto-Megacorporations”, AAR traces its direct lineage all the way back to pre-War Earth. Since the dawn of the Human interstellar space program, AAR has existed in some form as the primary supplier for all regulatory equipment necessary to maintain atmospherics systems. From the lowest shuttle to the largest colony station, every other corporation relies on AAR’s centuries of expertise and raw manufacturing power to offset their own costs.
AAR enjoys a rare, uncontested, Galactic monopoly, and as such, seeks to promote a strong image of neutrality towards the other corporations. How true this may be is up for debate. AAR has absorbed a number of notable corporations over the years, with two of its most well known subsidiaries being: Focal Point Energistics and Xion Manufacturing Group.
Blackstar Legion
Although not formally recognized as a Megacorporation, Blackstar Legion also has its roots planted firmly in pre-War Earth’s past. The premier private security firm, Blackstar, as it is more commonly known, is engaged in multiple contracts with those Megacorps either unable or unwilling to field their own paramilitary wings. Known for their discretion and professionalism, Blackstar are often hired for deniable duties by Megacorps eager to avoid scandal.
Centauri Provisions
The second of the three Proto-Megacorps, Centauri Provisions holds claim to the largest fleet of ships, stations, and colonial outposts in the galaxy. When one considers that Centauri Provisions is the Galaxy’s largest supplier of raw foodstuffs, potable water, and livestock, those numbers begin to make sense. Like its contemporary, AAR, Centauri Provisions possesses an uncontested monopoly, due more to practicality than any respect for tradition from the competition.
Without Centauri, approximately 83% of the colonies on the Frontier would experience the equivalent of a famine within a week. As such, Centauri Provisions maintains strict neutrality, and all other corporations – even those currently at war with each other – honor this stance.
Donk Co
Possessing brand name recognition on par with NanoTrasen , Donk Co is a corporate dynasty the likes of which is rarely seen. With a diverse production portfolio, from foodstuffs to toys to media, Donk rarely produces anything that is necessarily ‘vital’ to daily life in the galaxy. Nonetheless, their products are beloved, both by the unaffiliated consumer and their direct competition. It common knowledge that Donk Co served as one of the primary founders of the Syndicate, but this reality is not often brought up in polite society now that NanoTrasen’s monopoly on Phoron production has ended.
Glithari Exports
There are numerous courier services throughout the galaxy, but Glithari stands shoulders above the rest when it comes to sheer quality. Famed for their deep and long lasting connections in multiple luxury goods markets, Glithari are the go-to source for everything from fine cigars to rare art. Due to the sheer volume and value of the product Glithari transports across the galaxy on a daily basis, their haulers are prime targets for piracy. Consequently, they field a formidable fleet of escort ships claimed to rival that of some governments. Glithari contracts are famously discreet, and non-refundable.
Hephaestus Industries
Since the downfall of their primary competitor – Gorlex Manufacturing Corporation – Hephaestus Industries has made a name for itself as the premier arms manufacturer on the Frontier. Hephaestus famously – or infamously – has deep ties with NanoTrasen, and the two companies are often considered allies. In spite of their numerous contracts with NanoTrasen, approximately 60% of Hephaestus’ business still comes from the combined purchases of other corporations and local governments.
If you were to randomly inspect any firearm on the Frontier, the odds are good that you would find a Hephaestus Industries stamp somewhere on the body of the weapon.
Ironhammer Securities Group
A secretive organization, Ironhammer is allegedly a private security firm similar to Blackstar. However, their ancestry is much more difficult to divine. The nature of their weaponry and gear tend to imply an unsavory past, and the quality of their recruits do little to dissuade those they encounter of the notion. It is often suggested that Ironhammer is little more than a front for a criminal organization, or indeed a gathering place for all of the cast away Syndicate operatives looking for work since the end of the conflict.
Kynde Group Pharmaceuticals
Another apparent newcomer to the Galactic stage, those that pay attention know Kynde Group Pharmaceuticals by another name: Waffle Co. Following the end of NanoTrasen’s monopoly on Phoron, Waffle Co executives discovered that they had wildly overextended and were now facing the very real threat of bankruptcy. Waffle Co’s former “friend” Donk Co kept Waffle afloat, buying out their food manufacturing infrastructure in the process.
Forced to rebrand, Waffle Co shifted its focus entirely to the pharmaceutical field it had delved into during the conflict with NanoTrasen. Successfully rebranding as Kynde Group Pharmaceuticals, the company now presents itself as a competitor to Vey-Med and Zu, although in reality it remains little more than a front for organized crime.
NanoTrasen
The largest of all the Megacorporations, NanoTrasen first appeared on the galactic stage as a humble shipping and delivery service. Due to their shrewd acquisition of several unknown space lanes, and their heavy investment in engine technology, NanoTrasen quickly became synonymous with general supply delivery. Where other corporations would lean into their specialties, a la Glithari, NanoTrasen took its capital and expanded laterally into multiple fields, establishing a presence in both manufacturing and R&D. Integral to this process was the development of a strong working relationship with two other relatively specialized corporations; Hephaestus Industries and Vey-Med.
NanoTrasen’s intense and secretive R&D initiatives have kept it at the cutting edge of technology for centuries. The company’s infamous monopoly on the rare material Phoron allowed them to balloon out into the utter giant they are today. Although their monopoly has since been undercut, NanoTrasen’s power is stable, and the threat that they will once again establish dominance over a future market is omnipresent.
Oculum News Network
The Oculum News Network is largely what it says on the tin. Where other corporations are secret fronts, or giant dynasties stretching back centuries, ONN is little more than a popular journalistic outlet. Fielding a massive army of reporters and sources, Oculum provides the local sectors with the most relitavistically up to date news coverage possible.
Vey-Med
The second of NanoTrasen’s allied corporations, Vey-Med is well known across the Frontier as the corporation responsible for producing the most advanced and reliable medical technology in the galaxy. Vey-Med Nanite Implant Frameworks and prosthetics are sublime instances of the corporation’s mastery over the biological and mechanical arts. When Vey-Med isn’t crafting exotic med tech, they’re also responsible for fielding aid vessels staffed with some of the best medical teams.
Vey-Med’s humanitarian work is well known across the Frontier, and in spite of their close ties with NanoTrasen, they often operated unmolested during their allies’ conflict with the Syndicate. One of Vey-Med’s most notable subsidiaries is their former competitor Bishop Cybernetics.
Ward-Takahashi GMB
A veritable jack of all trades, Ward-Takahashi manufactures such a wide array of goods and components that it would be simpler to list what items the corporation does not fabricate. Instead, one may simply consider that every other known corporation possesses at least one contract with Ward-Takahashi. From capacitors to hull panels, this corporation possesses the mind-numbing infrastructure necessary to produce it, and produce it quickly.
Although it does not possess a formal monopoly, without Ward-Takahashi’s assistance, most other corporation’s production abilities would be severely handicapped as they attempted to compensate for the drop in imports. NanoTrasen, Ward-Takahashi’s closest competitor, willingly acknowledges that even its massive manufacturing capabilities still fail to compete with the single-minded power of Ward-Takahashi.
Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals
If Vey-Med is known for producing the machinery, Zeng-Hu is known for producing the medicine itself. A solid 30% of Zeng-Hu’s quarterly budget goes directly to Centauri Provisions. A further 20% goes to its own considerable horticultural holdings. Zeng-Hu oversees not just the mixing and production of medical salves, pills, and serums, but also the sourcing and manufacturing of the basic chemicals needed to create those same medicines to begin with. Pirates have long since learned to raid Zeng-Hu transports with care, as they’re just as likely to be ferrying containers full of volatile chemicals as they are buckets full of narcotics.
Zeng-Hu’s neutrality, unlike other more even tempered corporations, is not something that is agreed upon by all parties. It is not uncommon for Zeng-Hu to withhold supplies when it feels it has been slighted by another corporation, leading to a neutrality born of necessity, more than respect.