European startup The Exploration Company secures $450 million to build reusable heavy-lift launcher

The Exploration Company (TEC), operating across Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy, closed a $450 million Series C financing, described as the biggest ever for a European space venture. Led by Hélène Huby, the round was co-led by Atomico, the EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund and Bessemer Venture Partners, whose partner Alex Ferrara will join the board. The capital will fund the Nyx reusable capsule, intended to dock with the International Space Station and return by November 2028, and the Storm engine program that underpins a future heavy-lift launcher.

TEC already has more than $2 billion in contracts, with customers including the European Space Agency and NASA. The company hopes to provide a cost-competitive, reusable alternative to SpaceX, whose Falcon rockets are increasingly dedicated to its own Starlink constellation. European leaders such as President Macron and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the financing, which was announced ahead of the International Space Summit in Paris.