The Exploration Company Raises $160M As It Looks To Compete With SpaceX

The Exploration Company locked up a $160 million Collection B because the European startup seems to develop its personal house capsule to rival SpaceX’s Dragon.

The brand new spherical was co-led by Balderton Capital and Plural and brings TEC’s whole funding to just about $230 million, per the corporate.

“Over the previous 12 months, we have now hit main operational and monetary milestones and signed vital service contracts with each house businesses and industrial purchasers,” mentioned CEO and co-founder Hélène Huby in an announcement. “This new funding is the following step in scaling up our ambitions.”

The startup will use the recent money to develop and take a look at the following era of its house capsule, Nyx — a reusable and in-orbit refillable spacecraft that may be launched from any heavy launcher and fly to any house station. The corporate says its capsule will have the ability to take each individuals and cargo to house and again. That may make it a competitor to SpaceX and some different firms specializing in such transport.

Funding out of this world

TEC’s increase is simply the newest huge spherical for an area startup this yr. Up to now in 2024, house startups have raised $7.7 billion in 338 rounds, per Crunchbase data. That already surpasses final yr’s whole of $6.4 billion in 442 offers.

Simply final week, ​​Cedar Park, Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, an area transportation startup, raised a $175 million Collection D led by RPM Ventures at a valuation of greater than $2 billion. 

Whereas the full greenback quantity elevated from final yr, it’s nonetheless down from 2021 and 2022, when house startups raised greater than $12 billion and $9 billion, respectively.

Associated Crunchbase Professional record:

Associated studying:

Illustration: Dom Guzman