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- The Exploration Company
The Exploration Company Valuation, Funding & Investors
The Exploration Company is valued at $2B as of November 2024.
Last The Exploration Company valuation
$2B
Series B · Nov 2024
Last The Exploration Company funding round
$450M
Series C · Sep 2026
Cumulative funding The Exploration Company raised
$659M
across 5 funding rounds
Key investors in The Exploration Company
Balderton Capital
Cherry Ventures
Plural Platform
Red River West
Bessemer Venture Partners
EQT
About The Exploration Company
The Exploration Company is a Paris-headquartered aerospace firm developing the Nyx reusable spaceship for cargo transport to Earth-orbit space stations and lunar gateways. Nyx features in-orbit refueling, green propellant propulsion, and a payload capacity of 3.5 tons in a pressurized 15-cubic-meter volume. The company offers Mission Control software as an open-source operating system for spacecraft avionics. Founded in 2021, it has secured contracts with the European Space Agency and raised 45 million euros in Series A funding for prototype development.
Founded
2021
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B & B2G
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$2B (Nov 2024)
The Exploration Company Valuation
The Exploration Company is currently valued at $2B, based on its Series B in November 2024.
The $159M round was led by Balderton Capital and Plural Platform.
The Exploration Company valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2024 | Series B | $2B |
The Exploration Company Funding History
The Exploration Company has raised a total of $659M across 5 funding rounds.
The Exploration Company's first fundraising round was a $2M pre-seed round in October 2021. The most recent completed round was a $450M Series C in September 2026.
The Exploration Company funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | Series C | Atomico (lead); Bessemer Venture Partners (lead); EQT (lead); Plural Platform; Balderton Capital; Cherry Ventures; Red River West | $450M | - | The Exploration Company announced a $450 million Series C financing on 8 September 2026, co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico, and the Scaleup Europe Fund managed by EQT, with participation from existing investors including Balderton, Plural, Cherry, and Red River West. The round is intended to accelerate development of the company’s Nyx reusable capsule and Storm reusable rocket engine, with the stated goal of advancing Europe’s reusable space-transportation capabilities and supporting a mission to dock with the International Space Station and return to Earth. The financing also expands the company’s investor base across the Atlantic while keeping a strong European backing. The Exploration Company is a European space company founded in 2021 and operating across Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain, and Italy. The company said the Series C brings total funding raised to approximately $680 million. |
| Nov 2024 | Series B | Balderton Capital (lead); Plural Platform (lead) | $159M | $2B | The Exploration Company (TEC), founded in 2021 in Munich, Germany, develops reusable and modular spacecraft like the Nyx capsule for cargo transport to space stations, satellite deployment, and human space exploration, aiming to serve low Earth orbit logistics and lunar missions with up to 3,000 kg payload capacity. The company positions itself as Europe's answer to SpaceX's Dragon, emphasizing private funding and European sovereignty in space, with offices in Munich, Bordeaux, Houston, and Turin. It has secured significant service contracts with space agencies like ESA and NASA, as well as commercial clients including Vast, Axiom Space, and Starlab, building a $770 million contract backlog where 90% comes from private companies. On November 18, 2024, TEC closed a Series B funding round of approximately $160 million (or €150 million), co-led by Balderton Capital and Plural Platform, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, French Tech Souveraineté, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), and Bayern Kapital. This round, the largest Series B in European space industry history, brings TEC's total funding to nearly $230 million (some sources cite $208 million). The funds will accelerate Nyx spacecraft development and testing, expand the 200-person team, scale operations, and support mission objectives amid a projected $300 billion market for space logistics over the next decade. A news source mentions a valuation exceeding $2 billion for this round. Investors highlight TEC's role in fostering European independence from U.S.-centric space logistics, with 98% European shareholders. The company competes in a field dominated by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for ISS resupply, leveraging ESA support similar to NASA's COTS program for SpaceX. |
| Feb 2023 | Series A | EQT Ventures (lead); Red River West (lead) | $42M | - | The Exploration Company (TEC), founded in 2021 by Hélène Huby and former Airbus and ArianeGroup executives, develops the Nyx reusable spacecraft for low-cost cargo transportation to space stations and exploration missions, operating from Munich and Bordeaux. The company secured a Series A round in February 2023 led by EQT Ventures and Red River West, raising €40.5 million ($43.6 million), following a seed round of nearly $6 million in 2021 anchored by Promus Ventures and Vsquared Ventures. Investors including Cherry Ventures and Omnes also participated. Post-Series A, TEC demonstrated strong execution with technical advancements and commercial traction, securing a historic pre-booking contract with Axiom Space in September 2023 and over €750 million in total contracts (90% from private providers like Vast, Starlab, and Axiom; 10% from agencies), plus a €25 million ESA cargo contract and a NASA Space Act Agreement. In November 2024, TEC raised a €150-160 million Series B, the largest for a European space startup, valuing it at $525-600 million and bringing total funding to ~$210 million (~€193 million). Existing Series A investors like EQT Ventures, Red River West, NGP Capital, and Omnes rejoined, alongside new leads Balderton Capital and Plural, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bpifrance, Bayern Kapital, Cherry Ventures, and DeepTech & Climate Fonds. Funds support Nyx Earth launch, US market expansion, lunar missions with Nyx Moon and Huracan engine, in-orbit refueling, SpaceStore platform licensing, and payload data services. TEC positions in a market with excess demand for space transportation, backed by European institutional support and national programs like France 2030. It advances human spaceflight, space tourism, and proprietary tech commercialization amid growing private space infrastructure. |
| Nov 2021 | Seed | Promus Ventures (lead); Vsquared Ventures; Cherry Ventures | $6M | - | The Exploration Company is a Munich-based startup developing Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital vehicle for cargo and potential human transport to Earth orbit, the Moon, and space stations. Incubated at ESA BIC Bavaria in 2021 by CEO Hélène Huby, Priyanka Das Rajkakati, and Sebastien Reichstadt, the company raised €5.3 million ($6.1M) in a seed round on approximately November 18, 2021, led by Promus Ventures with participation from Vsquared Ventures and Cherry Ventures. The funds support development of Nyx, which enables missions from 3-6 months in Earth orbit with re-entry to lunar landings and resupply operations, alongside a SpaceStore for technology applications. Promus Ventures has backed the company since this seed round, joining subsequent Series A and Series B investments. |
| Oct 2021 | Pre-seed | - | $2M | - | - |
Who has invested in The Exploration Company?
10 investors have backed The Exploration Company across its funding rounds, including Balderton Capital, Cherry Ventures, Plural Platform, Red River West, Bessemer Venture Partners and EQT.
Lead investors include Atomico, Bessemer Venture Partners, EQT, Balderton Capital, Plural Platform and 3 other investors.
The Exploration Company Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Lead | Nov 2024 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Nov 2024 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Nov 2021 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Feb 2023 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Nov 2021 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Nov 2021 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Sep 2026 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Sep 2026 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 10 The Exploration Company investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAcquisitions by The Exploration Company
The Exploration Company has acquired 2 companies to date.
Last acquisition by The Exploration Company was on June 29th 2026. The Exploration Company acquired European Astrotech for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by The Exploration Company
| Description | European Astrotech is an aerospace company involved in spacecraft propulsion systems, propellant development, and launch site management. | Thrustworks is a UK-based additive manufacturing company that develops proprietary metal 3D printing technology for producing lightweight, intricate components used in aerospace engines and energy turbines. The firm employs Directed Energy Deposition processes to create high-strength parts from alloys like titanium and nickel superalloys. Headquartered in Birmingham, Thrustworks serves major clients in the aviation sector including engine manufacturers and has expanded into renewable energy applications such as wind turbine gearboxes. Founded in 2018, the company operates a dedicated production facility equipped with multi-laser systems capable of building parts up to one meter in size. Thrustworks holds several patents on its wire-fed laser deposition methods, enabling rapid prototyping and low-waste production for harsh-environment components. |
| HQ Country | ||
| HQ City | Aylesbury | Mönchengladbach |
| Deal Date | 29 Jun 2026 | 17 Nov 2025 |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | ||
| EV/EBITDA | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all The Exploration Company acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | ||
The Exploration Company Competitors
The Exploration Company competitors include listed companies like Intuitive Machines and Hunan Aerospace Huanyu, and private ones like SpinLaunch, Tianbing Technology, Vast and True Anomaly.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $2B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $2B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.9B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $2.2B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $207M | ($111M) | $2.4B | 5.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $68M | $14M | $2.4B | - |
The Exploration Company Public Comps
The Exploration Company is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Cirrus Aircraft, AECC Aero Science, Aerospace Industrial Development, Gaona Aero Material, Applied Aerospace & Defense, Voyager Technologies, Triangle Defense Co., Intuitive Machines, Sigma Advanced Systems and Hunan Aerospace Huanyu.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.4B | $233M | 1.1x | 1.0x | 6.6x | 5.8x | |||
| $645M | $88M | 3.8x | 3.9x | 27.6x | - | |||
| $1.1B | $95M | 2.1x | 2.0x | 24.7x | 20.1x | |||
| $551M | $66M | 3.5x | 3.0x | 28.7x | 26.5x | |||
| $604M | $96M | 4.3x | - | 27.0x | - | |||
| $166M | ($90M) | 14.4x | 9.5x | (26.8x) | (17.3x) | |||
| $237M | $81M | 6.2x | - | 18.1x | - | |||
| $207M | ($111M) | 17.6x | 5.0x | (32.9x) | (265.1x) | |||
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Common questions about The Exploration Company
| When was The Exploration Company founded? | The Exploration Company was founded in 2021. |
| Where is The Exploration Company headquartered? | The Exploration Company is headquartered in Munich, Germany. |
| Is The Exploration Company publicly listed? | No, The Exploration Company is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is The Exploration Company's valuation? | The Exploration Company was last valued at $2B in its Series B in November 2024. |
| How much funding has The Exploration Company raised? | The Exploration Company has raised $659M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was The Exploration Company's last funding round? | The Exploration Company's last funding round was a $450M Series C in September 2026, led by Atomico, Bessemer Venture Partners and EQT. |
| Who are The Exploration Company's investors? | The Exploration Company's investors include Plural Platform, Balderton Capital, Cherry Ventures, Red River West, Vsquared Ventures, Promus Ventures, EQT, Bessemer Venture Partners, EQT Ventures and Atomico. |
| Which companies are comparable to The Exploration Company? | Companies comparable to The Exploration Company include SpinLaunch, Tianbing Technology, Vast, True Anomaly, Intuitive Machines and Hunan Aerospace Huanyu. |
| How many companies has The Exploration Company acquired? | The Exploration Company has acquired 2 companies, including European Astrotech and Thrustworks. |
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