$450m · Series C · Reusable space transport · Gauting, Germany
The Exploration Company, founded by Hélène Huby, has announced $450m in Series C financing, co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico and the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT. Existing backers include Balderton, Plural, Cherry and Red River West. The funding will advance its reusable Nyx cargo capsule towards an orbital demonstration docking with the International Space Station and returning to Earth, alongside development of the Storm rocket engine.
The financing is subject to applicable regulatory approvals.
Europe’s space ambitions need a transport business
Nyx addresses a specific gap in Europe’s space capabilities: taking cargo to a station and bringing it home. That places TEC at the intersection of strategic autonomy and commercial logistics. Public agencies can provide early demand, while private station operators offer a route to a broader customer base. The investment case depends on converting both into services that can be delivered repeatedly.
For TEC, the planned docking-and-return mission is therefore a commercial milestone as well as an engineering one. Demonstrated reliability should help customers commit to future missions. Reusability can improve the economics only when refurbishment and flight cadence work together; the capital gives the team resources to prove that operating model.
Explore this theme
Partech explores how public procurement and private capital are reshaping Europe’s space industry, including the role of The Exploration Company.
Partech, hosted on EUVC · 23 March 2026
