Deeptech

Q2 202424.06.2024

Spacetech (Q2 2024)

Picture of Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly

at Sifted

Europe is targeting niche roles in the space economy like curbing space junk and using satellites to monitor climate change and illegal activities at sea. But the industry has a lot of ground to make up on the US and China.

Europe's politicians wring their hands over a lack of sovereign access to space — the EU has to send its satellites on Musk-owned rockets (and if these didn't exist, the space economy wouldn't exist either). A recent report by the Satellite Industry Association, meanwhile, laid bare just how much European space follows in America’s contrails. The US manufactured 85% of all satellites launched in 2023 and captured 54% of global commercial launch revenues, the report reads.

You can hardly blame investors for being cautious on spacetech: the words space and profitability don’t really belong in the same sentence. Funding last year for European spacetechs was below $1bn, down more than 60% from its peak in 2021 but slightly above 2022’s figure, according to Dealroom data. So far this year, European spacetechs have raised a little over €400m, according to Sifted data. That includes some large rounds, such as the €65m deal announced last week for rocket maker Isar Aerospace — an extension of an earlier round — and France-based Latitude’s $30m Series B in January.

Lately, European governments have started to do more of what they should’ve been doing already — that is, helping the industry to blast off with some public contracts. Last week, the NATO Innovation Fund awarded money to UK manufacturer Space Forge and Isar Aerospace (though we weren’t told how much either received). Earlier this year, the European Space Agency awarded a contract to Franco-German startup The Exploration Company (TEC) to build a rocket to go to low-Earth orbit by 2028.

If Europe can secure its own space gateway in the next few years — with the help of launchers developed by Isar Aerospace or TEC — then this should drive down prices, opening up spaceflight to a growing number of operators. But until this happens, most investors will probably keep their focus on the much bigger US market.

20 most promising early-stage startups to watch

Sifted score
8.43
-
E-Space
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2021
- HQ
  Toulouse, France
- Latest round
  Seed
  €45.5m / Feb 2022
- Total funding
  €45.5m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.87
+0.10
Reflex Aerospace
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2021
- HQ
  Berlin, Germany
- Latest round
  Seed
  €1.8m / May 2023
- Total funding
  €10.3m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.73
-
Blackshark.ai
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2020
- HQ
  Graz, Austria
- Latest round
  Early VC
  €13.6m / Nov 2023
- Total funding
  €31.8m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.3
-
AIRMO
Real-time GHG emissions monitoring solution.
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2023
- HQ
  Munich, Germany
- Latest round
  Grant
  €5.2m / Apr 2024
- Total funding
  €5.3m
View company profile
Sifted score
7.06
-
Seqana
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2020
- HQ
  Berlin, Germany
- Latest round
  Seed
  €1.9m / May 2024
- Total funding
  €4.3m
View company profile

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