The Exploration Company raises $450 million in Europe’s largest space Series C
Funding will advance the reusable Nyx capsule toward an ISS mission and speed development of the Storm rocket engine
The Exploration Company (TEC), a Paris-based space company, has raised $450 million in a Series C round, the largest ever by a European space company and the largest funding round by an EU-headquartered company led by a female founder and chief executive.
The round will fund Nyx, TEC’s reusable cargo capsule, toward a mission to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth, and speed development of Storm, a reusable high-thrust rocket engine.
The round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico and the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, with existing backers Balderton, Plural, Cherry and Red River West also participating. Bessemer partner Alex Ferrara will join TEC’s board. The round brought TEC’s total funding since its 2021 founding to about $680 million.
“Everyone on Earth depends on infrastructure in space, yet the ability to reach, supply and return from orbit remains rare,” said Hélène Huby, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Exploration Company. “This financing will allow us to execute with urgency: to bring Nyx to the International Space Station and safely back to Earth, while accelerating Storm, the high-thrust propulsion capability Europe needs for its future reusable heavy launcher.
“We are scaling from Europe with talent, customers and partners from around the world because the next generation of space transportation must be built to serve more nations, industries and people – and because our mission is to contribute to build a more collaborative and peaceful future in space.”
Nyx capsule nears its first ISS mission
Nyx is a reusable, launcher-agnostic spacecraft that carries cargo to public and private space stations, with crew capability planned later. Its first full-scale orbital demonstration will include docking with the ISS and returning safely to Earth, TEC stated.
The funding will also advance Storm, which TEC described as Europe’s first reusable high-thrust rocket engine, using a full-flow staged combustion cycle burning liquid oxygen and biomethane.
The engine is meant to power a future reusable European heavy-lift launcher capable of placing up to 40 metric tons into low Earth orbit in a reusable configuration. TEC said the funding would support a subscale thrust-chamber test of the engine’s pre-burners in the coming months, an oxygen-rich power pack test, and a workhorse engine test within the next few years.
Contracts and partnerships back the round
TEC has secured more than $2 billion in contracts and commitments from public and private customers, including the European Space Agency and commercial space station operators, the company reported.
TEC is also the first European space startup to sign a Space Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, working with the agency on technical and safety qualification and certification for future ISS and commercial-station missions. TEC employs more than 550 people across Europe, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
