Luxembourg-anchored Orbital Ventures has closed a €120 million fund that takes aim at international early-stage, space-related companies, including telecom networks, location-based services, robotics, sensors and data, earth observation and monitoring, logistics, and space resources and exploration.
Managed by Promus Ventures, the EIF committed €40 million to the fund, with additional funding arriving via international corporate, institutional, and private investors, as well as public actors, including the Luxembourg Government via the Ministry of the Economy and the National Credit and Investment Institution (SNCI).
Since announcing the first close in January of this year, Orbital Ventures has invested in a number of space tech startups including:
- Isotropic Systems (UK), makers of multi-beam, high bandwidth satellite terminals
- Ellipsis Drive (NL), building a data platform that shares geospatial information
- Fernride (DE), technology-as-a-service provider of remotely operated and fully automated driverless logistics
- Akasha Imaging (US), leveraging imaging and deep learning to help industrial robots see better via computer vision
- Recycleye (UK), using artificial intelligence and robots to automate and accelerate the waste management process
- Wakeo (FR), addressing international supply chain disruptions with multimodal real-time visibility, advanced analytics, and environmental emissions tracking
“We continue to witness terrific growth and developments in the new space industry, and we are excited to deploy this new sector-specific space fund," comments Promus Venutres’ Partner Pierre Festal. "Since 2014, we have had a strong track record investing in successful space start-ups, including industry leaders such as Rocket Lab, Spire, ICEYE, and others. It’s a pivotal time for global space players and the outlook is strong.”
Photo by Andy Holmes on Unsplash
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