By Raphael Roettgen
US$158 million of announced space-related financing rounds in March 2020 bring the total for the first quarter of 2020 to approximately US$550 million. The March number is the lowest monthly number so far, but it is worth noting that it does not include SpaceX’s ongoing funding round, for which approximately US$221 million have already been raised according to filings – of a total of US$250 million (and potentially up to US$500 million, according to some reports).
It is too early to try to detect any impact of COVID-19 in announced capital raises, as deals announced recently have almost certainly been in the works for many months. COVID has, however, shown its impact via its likely, at least, partial role in the Chapter 11 filing of satellite communications company OneWeb and the closure of space station module developer Bigelow Aerospace.
Join us for our Space Café WebTalk on April 7th, where we will discuss space financing activity and the current environment in more detail.
| Company | US$m | Country | Subsector | Investors |
| AST&Science | 110.0 | U.S. | Satcom | Vodafone, Samsung Next, Rakuten, Cisneros, American Tower, others |
| Predasar | 25.0 | U.S. | Remote Sensing (SAR) | Rokk3R Fuel EXO |
| Mino Space | 14.0 | China | Spacecraft Components | Billionhome Capital |
| Agnikul Cosmos | 3.1 | India | Launch | Artha India Ventures, CIIE, Globevestor, LetsVenture, LionRock Capital, Pi Ventures, Speciale Invest |
| Sateliot | 1.5 | Spain | Satcom (IoT) | Capitana Venture Partners |
| Slingshot Aerospace | 1.5 | U.S. | Remote Sensing (downstream) | ATX Venture Partners, Rise of the Rest |
| Slingshot Aerospace | 1.5 | U.S. | Remote Sensing (downstream) | (USAF grant) |
| CollectiveCrunch | 0.6 | Finland | Remote Sensing (downstream) | (ESA grant) |
| Orbitfab | 0.3 | U.S. | Orbital Services (refueling) | (NSF grant) |
| ClearSpace | 0.1 | Switzerland | Orbital Services (debris removal) | Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT) |
| Astrocast | N/A | Switzerland | Satcom (IoT | Marine Instruments |
| Hiber | N/A | Netherlands | Satcom (IoT) | (European Innovation Council Accelerator grant) |
| NewSpace Systems | N/A | South Africa | Spacecraft Components | Schauenburg Ventures |
| Utvate | N/A | U.S. | Satcom (receivers) | Soma Capital |
Raphael Roettgen provides financial advice to and invests proprietary capital in space companies as a managing director and founder of E2MC. He also advises institutional investors and governments on space. Previously, Raphael has held senior roles at global investment banks and hedge funds and was also a fintech entrepreneur in Brazil. He holds degrees in finance from Wharton, machine learning from PUC-Rio and space studies from the International Space University, as well as the CFA and FRM charters.
