Loft Orbital, a French-American space tech company, has raised €170m in equity as part of a Series C round, to build infrastructure ready-to-use in orbit that it says will allow customers to easily deploy space-based missions.
The new injection of capital values Loft at more than $1bn, meaning it has reached unicorn status, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the deal. Loft declined to confirm the latest company valuation.
It is one of Europe’s only private space tech companies with a billion-dollar valuation. In 2022 UK satellite operator OneWeb was valued at $3.4bn when it merged with rival European company Eutelsat.
The Series C was led by Paris-based global asset manager Tikehau Capital together with US VC Axial Partners. It included participation from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, European deeptech VC Supernova Invest and French public bank Bpifrance, as well as US investors Tribeca Venture Partners, Starburst Ventures, Arkenstone and GSBackers.
It brings total funding for Loft to more than €300m. The startup last raised a €140m Series B in 2021, led by high-profile US investor BlackRock.
France has seen a number of large funding rounds for space tech companies in recent months, including Unseenlabs’ €85m Series C last year and a €150m round raised by French-German SpaceX competitor The Exploration Company in October.
Cloud infrastructure for space
Loft provides “space infrastructure”, meaning that it owns and operates satellites that it offers to customers that wish to launch missions into space.
The startup compares its model to cloud computing infrastructure back on Earth, but for space. “Similar to the cloud, we abstract all of the infrastructure elements away from the customer,” says Loft cofounder Pierre-Damien Vaujour. “All the customer has to do is deploy their mission and use it.”
Thanks to the proprietary technology developed by the company, customers’ hardware — like scientific equipment and devices — can be integrated with Loft’s spacecraft. The startup then handles the launch and operation of satellites for its customers.
In 2023 NASA partnered with Loft to launch into orbit an instrument dedicated to observing the Earth’s surface temperature called a Multiband Uncooled Radiometer Instrument (MURI).
Customers can also launch missions that make use of the capabilities already on-board Loft’s satellites, like sensors, computers and cameras. The company says that it provides AI-powered computing capabilities on-board, meaning that customers can access real-time analytics for use cases such as wildfire detection or identification of GPS jammers.
The proposition has attracted high-profile clients ranging from NASA and the US Space Force, to Microsoft and defence tech companies like Helsing and Anduril. In 2023, the startup created Loft Federal — a subsidiary dedicated to classified US defence programmes, which it says will launch its first satellites this year.
Vaujour says that the startup’s services are most often used for use cases related to global security and climate change.
“Defence entities will want to know, for example, how many boats are on a beach to anticipate an attack,” says Vaujour. “In climate change, it will be about monitoring things like air pollution… and most importantly, rapidly detect and react to environmental disasters.”
The startup says that it has executed 25 missions for clients since it launched in 2017. It has signed €500m worth of commercial contracts over the next few years, says Vaujour. With an average contract lasting five years, this would represent €100m in annual recurring revenues. Vaujour declined to confirm the exact annual figure.
Vaujour says that the company isn’t breaking even yet but expects to reach profitability in “around two years”.
International expansion
Loft has dual headquarters in Toulouse, a French hub for space tech, and San Francisco. The company’s team of 250 is split between both locations.
A small team of less than 10 people is also based in Abu Dhabi, says Vaujour, where last year Loft established a joint venture with UAE space company Marlan Space — with the objective of manufacturing up to 50 satellites annually. The joint venture came with an initial investment of €100m.
Vaujour says that with the backing of Temasek, the startup also plans to expand to Singapore. “We’ve created a group that is now international,” says Vaujour.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/loft-orbital-170m-series-c-news/
