Space Investments in 2020 Hit $7.7 Billion ... a Record Year
A new report concludes that space investments hit $7.7 billion in funding in 2020 alone, bringing total space investments since 2000 to nearly $36 billion.
“2020 was definitely a record year for space investments, with M&As, exits, and new rounds closing as we witnessed more enthusiasm and optimism in the prospect for the Space market.”
Shivaprakash Muruganandham, NSR Senior Analyst and report lead author.
NSR’s Emerging Space Investment Analysis, 3rd Edition report (ESIA3) indicates that the space investment scene, currently dominated by launch companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, is seeing a potential equilibrium take place between investment activity from Venture Capitalists (VC), traditional investors, and governments. Analytics companies that use space-derived data make up most of the recent newcomers in the satellite ecosystem but command less funding due to their lower-capital requirements. On the other hand, Earth Observation and Communications continue to mature and require larger amounts of funding to sustain their growth and pay for their infrastructure.
“2020 was definitely a record year for space investments, with M&As, exits, and new rounds closing as we witnessed more enthusiasm and optimism in the prospect for the Space market,” said Shivaprakash Muruganandham, NSR Senior Analyst and report lead author.
Recent announcements of Special Acquisition Companies (SPAC), the speedier and less regulation-heavy version of an IPO, have brought a new wave of fresh funding but also a sign that some early investors want a satisfactory exit.
“With excess capital on the market, and time clocks on SPACs ticking down, NSR expects more space companies to go public in 2021,” said Arthur Van Eeckhout, NSR Analyst and report co-author. “It will be very interesting to see how things pan out in the future, but right now, Space is a hot market for investors.”
NSR’s Emerging Space Investment Analysis, 3rd Edition (ESIA3) analyzes the dynamics and trends in the global new space investment landscape over the last two decades, with a particular focus on 2019 and 2020.
ESIA3 is a resource for assessing how private space companies are pushing the development of the commercial space sector. The report offers insight into this new ecosystem that is building innovative technologies and raising funds to new heights, in order to create critical infrastructure required for the future. The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on emerging space companies’ funding is discussed, detailing how deal flows were impacted and investment perspectives changed during this time. Furthermore, the report offers business-critical insights on investments relating to 12 key sub-segments of the industry.
(Source: NSR news release)