DLA Piper advises EQT Ventures on Series A Financing round in European SpaceTech Company The Exploration Company

DLA Piper advised EQT Ventures as co-lead investor on their investment in The Exploration Company. The German-French space exploration company raised EUR40.5 million in a Series A financing round. According to the company, the investment marks the largest Series A financing in the European space sector to date. Alongside EQT Ventures the round was led by Red River West with participation from both new and existing investors including, Promus Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Vsquared, Omnes Capital and others.

With the fresh capital, The Exploration Company aims to commercialize its first full-scale space capsule (launch planned for 2026), finalize and test launch its second capsule demonstrator (launch planned for 2024), as well as expand the team.

The Exploration Company's mission is to democratize space exploration, making it affordable, available and sustainable. To realize this mission, The Exploration Company develops, manufactures and operates Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital vehicle that can eventually be refueled in orbit and uses green propellants.

EQT Ventures is the venture capital fund of EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization. The fund invests globally in fast-growing, innovative and technology-driven companies across all sectors, with a focus on Europe and the US.

DLA Piper regularly advises EQT Ventures on financing rounds, such as its investments in foodtech pioneer Formo, robotics company Wandelbots and remote desktop specialist AnyDesk.

The DLA Piper team was led by Frankfurt based partner Andreas Füchsel and senior associate Philipp Meyer (both Private Equity/M&A), supported by associate Oliver Schmidt (Corporate/Private Equity, Munich).