EU space startup raises $160 million to compete with SpaceX

The round was led by venture capital firms Balderton Capital and Plural, bringing the startup’s total fundraising to more than $208 million. The round also included Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital and two European sovereign wealth funds: French Tech Souveraineté and DeepTech & Climate Fonds.

Today, only two companies in the world deliver cargo to the International Space Station, both based in the United States. The Exploration Company, which operates in Germany, France and Italy, is about to change that. Nyx’s first flight to the ISS and back is scheduled for 2028.

The startup was founded in 2021 by aerospace engineers Hélène Huby, Sebastian Reichstat and Pierre Wein. According to Euby, The Exploration Company is the first spaceflight company backed primarily by private investors. Its main competitor, SpaceX’s Dragon project, is funded by NASA.

The startup is already collaborating with the European Space Agency and received a $27 million research contract in early 2024 to develop cargo return services. ESA’s goal is to launch at least one capsule to the ISS in 2028.

The contract structure is reminiscent of a NASA program launched in 2006 that awarded SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) transportation contracts worth billions of dollars.

Exploration Company’s clients include private space station developers, including Vast, Axiom Space and Starlab, which have signed contracts worth $770 million with the company.

The Exploration Company had planned to test the return capsule during the first launch of the Ariane 6 aircraft carrier in the summer of 2024, but it was postponed due to problems with the rocket’s upper stage. A second demonstration, codenamed Mission Possible, is planned with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 next year.