SpaceWatch.Global An independent perspective on space
by Raphael Roettgen
November’s space financing activity was clearly dominated by the US$500 million round by American rocket company Relativity Space, known for its extensive use of 3D printing in its manufacturing process. The round, which was subscribed by existing and new investors, occurred at at an eye-watering (considering the company has not flown to orbit yet) post-money valuation of US$2.3 billion.
M&A continued with notable deals being Raytheon’s acquisition of Blue Canyon, Voyager’s of The Launch Company and Parson Corporation’s of Braxton Science & Technology Group.
Albeit we are nearing the end of 2020, the month of December looks promising: we are aware of several funding rounds about to be announced, in addition to other potential significant space newsflow that includes a likely test flight of SpaceX’s Starship and a second orbital attempt by VirginOrbit’s air-launched LauncherOne rocket.
Reminder: if you are following the new space sector and are looking for a concise introduction to its trends, main business activities, and possible outlook (and if you happen to speak German!) you may be interested in my new book I recently published with Spacewatch.Global – you can check it out here.
| Company | US$m | Country | Subsector | Investors |
| Relativity Space | 500.0 | U.S. | Launch | 3L Capital, Allen & Company LLC, Baillie Gifford, Bond, Elad Gil, Fidelity, General Catalyst, ICONIQ Capital, Jared Leto, K5 Global, Lee Fixel, Mark Cuban, Playground Global, Senator Investment Group, Spencer Rascoff, Tiger Global Management, Tribe Capital, XN
|
| Galaxy Space | 29.9 | China | Launch, Satcomm | 5Y Capital, CICC, Legend Capital, Nantong Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Investment fund, Shunwei Capital, Source Code Capital
|
| Ursa Major | 25.3 | U.S. | Spacecraft components (engines)
|
N/A
|
| Carbice Corp. | 15.0 | U.S. | Materials (thermal management)
|
Downing LLP, others |
| Kleos Space | 13.8 | Luxembourg | Remote sensing
|
N/A |
| Totum Labs | 13.0 | U.S. | Satcomm (IoT)
|
Heroic Ventures, Space Capital, Qamcom, Andrew Viterbi
|
| Emxys | 2.4 | Spain | Spacecraft components
|
Mundi Ventures, CDTI |
| Satelligence | 2.3 | Netherlands | Remote sensing – downstream (forestry/agri)
|
4impact, Horizon 2020 |
| Firehawk Aerospace | 2.0 | U.S. | Spacecraft components (engines)
|
Victorum Capital Club, Achieve Capital, Harlow Capital Management
|
| HyImpulse | 0.6 | Germany | Launch
|
ESA |
| Isar Aerospace | 0.6 | Germany | Launch
|
ESA |
| RFA | 0.6 | Germany | Launch
|
ESA |
| Astrogate Labs | N/A | India | Satcomm (optical) | Speciale Invest, Anicut Angel Fund, SuprValue.vc, FirstCheque.vc
|
| IBISA | N/A | Luxembourg | Remote sensing – downstream (insurance)
|
Draper University Ventures
|
| Picogrid | N/A | U.S. | Satcomm (terminals) | N/A
|
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.
