Series C Funding Round Nets Nearly $21 Million for Orbex
Series C Funding Round Nets Nearly $21 Million for Orbex
Group of Six Backers Invest in the Company
A group of six backers has raised £16.7 million (≈ $21 million) in an update to the Orbex Series C funding round. With pre-launch testing underway, the funding will help the company ramp up the development of Prime, its 19-meter (≈ 62 foot) long, two-stage rocket designed to transport small satellites into Low Earth Orbit. The aim is to ensure full readiness and scalability for its launch period.
"Our technology is pivotal in making the UK a hub for European orbital launch."
Phillip Chambers, Orbex
Orbex now has 2 active patents in a number of European countries and the United States covering various parts of its rocket technology. It is powered by a renewable bio-fuel, which allows the rocket to reduce carbon emissions significantly compared to other similarly sized rockets being developed elsewhere around the world.
Investors involved in the deal include £10.5 million (≈ $13.1 million) follow-on investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, venture capital firms Octopus Ventures, BGF, Heartcore, the Export & Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) and a number of corporate and angel investors.
The funding injection comes after scale-up expert Phillip Chambers and former Director General of the Spanish Space Agency Miguel Belló Mora joined to form a new leadership team in January. Chambers himself became an investor in the firm’s £40 million (≈ $50 million) Series C funding round in 2022.
“Orbex is one of only two space rocket manufacturers in the UK, and the only one to also operate its own spaceport," said Phillip Chambers, CEO of Orbex. "Our technology is pivotal in making the UK a hub for European orbital launch, and we are entering a critical phase of development. We are building a sustainable, cost-effective launch vehicle to compete with the best of Europe’s spaceflight manufacturers. This additional funding will support our goal to push on into an operational launch phase, and scale our business when the time comes.”
With testing and launch now in its sights, Orbex will soon enter a new phase of growth with a Series D funding round, which will aim to secure its long-term prospects as the leading orbital launch business in Europe.