25 Oct, 2021
October 25, 2021 – Today, ispace, inc. (ispace) announced that it raised additional financing from Airbus Ventures, as part of an extension of the lunar exploration company’s Series C investment round, following its initial Series C funding announced on August 4, 2021, and its Series C extension round funding announced on October 20th.
With this latest investment, ispace’s total amount raised since seed investment is approximately $200 million (USD).[i] The funds from ispace’s Series C investment round are planned to be applied toward ispace’s second lunar mission, which is planned to launch in 2023[ii], as well as to support the development of its Series 2 lunar lander for its third mission, which is currently planned to launch in 2024[iii]. The Series 2 lander for the third mission is currently being developed in the United States.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Toulouse and Tokyo, Airbus Ventures is a fast-moving venture capital company that funds and supports start-ups impacting the aerospace industry. Its investment universe includes a wide variety of space-related innovative companies that can uniquely facilitate the creation of a broad and powerfully connected cislunar ecosystem with ispace.
In connection to Airbus Ventures’ investment into ispace’s Series C extension round, Airbus Ventures Partner, Dr. Lewis Pinault, will perform as a mentor to ispace. In this role, Dr. Pinault will support ispace as we advance our lunar payload delivery and capability globally.
Along with the recent investment from Axiom Asia Private Capital, which ispace announced last week, this investment from Airbus Ventures marks major global interest in ispace’s work and capabilities. As ispace strives to be a global citizen, the company continues to expand its presence through its various stakeholders including its investors, customers, employers, suppliers, and partners. Moreover, this latest milestone further bolsters ispace’s efforts to become a collaborative player, alongside a host of space companies operating on the international stage.
Comments
● Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO, ispace: “It’s an honor to receive this investment from a truly global organization like Airbus Ventures, which is another first direct investment from an international institutional investor for ispace, along with Axiom Asia Private Capital. Likewise, we’re very pleased to work with Dr. Lewis Pinault, who will be an instrumental mentor as we advance our lunar payload delivery capability across Asia Pacific and beyond.”
● Lewis Pinault, Airbus Ventures Partner, Japan & Asia Pacific: “At Airbus Ventures one of our rapidly developing areas of investment interest is to harness the natural resources of the Moon to deliver clean energy, rare metals, and biosphere-friendly manufactured products to Earth,” explains Dr. Pinault. “Be it Moon-made solar panels, catalysts to drive Earth’s hydrogen future, or off-world mining and manufacturing alleviating the compounding stresses on Earth’s climate and biodiversity, we see the Moon’s development as a key solution to humanity’s planetary system crises. We’re thus especially delighted to be investing in ispace, whose fast-growing ability to assay the resources of the Moon and deliver key data on behalf of our home world is a first great leap toward building a working and sustainable Earth-Moon System.”
ispace, inc. (https://ispace-inc.com/)
ispace is a lunar exploration company with over 160 staff across offices in Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company has raised a total funding of approximately $200 million (USD),[iv] which is being used to build commercial lunar landers to provide a high-frequency, low-cost delivery service to the Moon. Aspiring to be a gateway for companies to bring their business to the Moon, ispace has also launched a lunar data business concept to support companies with lunar market entry. The company’s first lunar mission is planned for 2022,[v] with a second mission planned for 2023[vi].
Airbus Ventures (https://www.airbusventures.vc/)
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in Toulouse and Tokyo, Airbus Ventures is a fast-moving, early-stage venture capital company that independently funds and supports startups impacting the aerospace industry. Airbus Ventures has helped aspiring innovators reach new dimensions of achievement since 2015.
###
[i] Actual figure is JPY 21.8 billion; JPY to USD conversion provided for reference purposes, using the applicable FX rates as of the time of each funding
[ii] Plan as of October 2021.
[iii] Plan as of October 2021.
[iv] Actual figure is JPY 21.8 billion; JPY to USD conversion provided for reference purposes, using the applicable FX rates as of the time of each funding
[v] Plan as of October 2021.
[vi] Plan as of October 2021.