Orbex closes £40.4 million series C funding

UK-based spaceflight company Orbex has secured £40.4 million for its series C funding round, with continued support from BGF, alongside existing investors: Octopus Ventures, Heartcore Capital and High-Tech Gründerfonds.

BGF has backed Orbex since December 2020 and the new funding will allow Orbex to scale up its resources as it counts down to the first vertical launch from UK soil, as well as unlocking additional funding to support future projects.

New investors to this latest round include: The Scottish National Investment Bank, the global technology-forward solutions company, Jacobs, The Danish Green Future Fund, Verve Ventures, and the British entrepreneurs Phillip and James Chambers.

Keith Barclay, investor at BGF, said: “Orbex is at the forefront of innovation in the hugely exciting frontier of space technology. This is a sector that has the power to transform not only how we communicate through satellite infrastructure, but also how we tackle society-wide challenges such as climate change.

“Orbex is a fantastic example of a UK business that is democratising the commercial opportunities that space technology offers, while also reducing the environmental cost of satellite launches with its light, efficient rockets. We are right at the beginning of exploring the opportunities afforded by space technology and are therefore delighted to be continuing in our support for one of the leading lights in this field.”

Orbex recently revealed its “Prime” rocket in its final form, making this the first full orbital micro-launcher to be unveiled in Europe. Prime is a 19-metre long, two-stage rocket designed to transport small satellites weighing up to 180kg into low Earth orbit.

Orbex´s rocket will launch from the Space Hub Sutherland spaceport near Tongue on the North coast of mainland Scotland, which is expected to be the UK´s first operational spaceport.

Chris Larmour, CEO at Orbex said: “We´re delighted to have closed this new funding round. Orbex has made significant progress to get to this point, with the invention of ground-breaking, innovative technology, the rapid development and testing of the launch vehicle, the expansion of our manufacturing footprint in the UK and Denmark, the creation of the UK´s first orbital spaceport in mainland Scotland, and the growth in customers from the UK, Europe and America signing up to launch dedicated payloads with Orbex.

“These results have only been made possible by the maturity and dedication of the entire Orbex team, who bring a huge amount of skill and experience to their tasks from a wide variety of industries, launch systems and spacecraft. This significant new funding round is testament to the work of that team and will allow us to continue to build Orbex towards our long-term goal of establishing a reliable, economically successful and environmentally sustainable European space launch business.”