Isar Aerospace, a provider of satellite launch services, has announced that its Series C round has been significantly extended, now valued at over EUR 220 million, by over EUR 65 million. NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), a stand-alone venture capital fund supported by 24 NATO Allies that invests more than EUR 1 billion to support deep technology businesses tackling resilience, security, and defence issues, strongly committed to the extension. This represents the NATO Innovation Fund’s first-ever direct investment in a satellite service launch provider and emphasizes the diverse significance of space technologies, which are essential for both defence capabilities and civilian innovation.
The NATO Innovation Fund’s managing partner, Andrea Traversone, stated: “Space access is essential to Europe and the UK’s technological sovereignty.” Isar’s space technologies are very promising and will help us create a safe and prosperous future for future generations. We’ll provide Isar with adoption routes in both the public and private sectors.
Prominent countries, such as the US, have already changed their space and defence policies to mostly rely on commercial space capabilities since acquiring goods and services from private companies is more creative, effective, and, most importantly, economical.
“The investment by the NATO Innovation Fund in Isar Aerospace is a strong sign of confidence in our approach and underlines the fundamental role of space technologies for our economies and societies,” stated Daniel Metzler, co-founder and CEO of Isar Aerospace. Furthermore, it demonstrates how European governments must support and capitalize on private innovation and goods in order to remain competitive worldwide.
The construction of a state-of-the-art commercial launch vehicle production facility close to Munich, Germany, was announced by Isar Aerospace. The facility will be developed and built by the pan-European real estate company VGP Group, enabling Isar Aerospace to eventually construct 40 Spectrum launch vehicles annually.
