Lunar Tech Startup ispace Raises $28M

Japanese space tech startup ispace has raised $28 million for its Series B round, bringing its total funding to about $125 million.

Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily

The lunar exploration startup is working to build a commercial lunar lander. The company is aiming to be a “gateway for the private sector to bring their business to the moon,” per a statement from the company.

The Series B round was led by IF SPV 1st Investment Partnership (which is managed by Incubate Fund), and included participation from Space Frontier Fund, Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. 

According to the announcement from the startup, the new funding will be used to develop its commercial lunar landing for ispace’s first mission, which is planned for 2022, as well as its second mission, which is planned for 2023. 

The company is also rolling out Blueprint Moon, a lunar business data platform meant to help others with lunar market entry by collecting and providing lunar data, per a statement from the company.

“This new investment and launch of our new lunar data offering concept will not only support the steady development of ispace’s business, but will also prove that ispace can lead globally in the development of the lunar economy, expanding humanity’s presence into space and creating a more sustainable world,” CEO Takeshi Hakamada said in a statement.

The company has more than 100 employees and offices in Japan, Europe, and the United States, per a statement from ispace. It last raised money with its $95 million Series A in late 2017, according to Crunchbase. 

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias