Capsule startup’s €40M round fuels European space ambition

The Exploration Co., a potential rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX that has developed a reusable space capsule, said on Wednesday it has raised €40 million (about $43.9 million), as VC continues to drive Europe’s burgeoning space industry. 

Even in an increasingly tough fundraising environment, PitchBook data shows that European space startups have continued to pull in capital, raising €141.1 million across six deals this past month alone—including this latest Series A co-led by EQT Ventures and Red River West. 

VC investment  in European space tech has increased in recent years, hitting a peak in 2021 when startups attracted €538.2 million across 75 deals. Deal flow remained  strong in 2022, with €531.8 million invested across 64 deals. 

 

Founded in 2019 by former Airbus executive Hélène Huby, the Exploration Co., which has offices in Germany and France, hopes to build a sustainable, reusable space capsule. The capsule, called Nyx, can potentially be used by private and public operators to fly cargo into space, resupply space stations and even transport people.  

The startup, which previously raised €5.3 million in a seed round led by Promus Ventures, received early support from European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre. The European government has been looking to increase investment in space innovation. In November, it increased the ESA’s overall budget by 17% to €7.08 billion. This included plans to raise its technology budget to €542 million, which will be used to support space commercialization efforts. 

Other recent investments in Europe’s space tech sector include a £40.4 million Series C for UK spaceflight company Orbex in October, which was led by Scottish National investment Bank, and Finland’s ICEYE, which raised a $136 million Series D for its micro-satellite technology. 

Featured image courtesy of the Exploration Co.