Investment: “The Exploration Company raises $450M”
The Exploration Company develops reusable spacecraft and propulsion systems to transport cargo between Earth and orbit. The Exploration Company has raised $450 million in a Series C round co‑led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico and the Scaleup Europe Fund managed by EQT.
Other participants in the round include existing investors Balderton, Plural, Cherry and Red River West. Bessemer’s Alex Ferrara will join TEC’s board of directors. The round brings the company’s total funding to approximately $680 million.
Founded by Hélène Huby, TEC is developing Nyx, a reusable space capsule designed to transport cargo to current and future space stations and return it safely to Earth, with the potential to carry crew at a later stage. The company plans for Nyx to dock with the International Space Station and demonstrate an end‑to‑end reusable orbital transportation capability.
TEC is also developing Storm, a high‑thrust rocket engine that uses oxygen and methane as propellants for a planned reusable European heavy‑lift launcher capable of carrying up to 40 tonnes to low Earth orbit. Planned development work includes tests of the engine’s pre‑burners and power system, followed by testing of a full engine prototype. The company says it has secured more than $2 billion in contracts and commitments from public- and private‑sector customers, including work with the European Space Agency and cargo logistics agreements with commercial space‑station operators, and has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to work on technical, safety and certification requirements for potential future missions to the ISS and commercial stations.
Part of the Series C will be used to bring Nyx to the ISS and back, accelerate development and testing of the Storm engine, and, subject to regulatory approvals, support hiring and the expansion of engineering, manufacturing, mission operations, propulsion and programme delivery capabilities.
“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.”
