Finance

IENAI Space has raised €3.9 million during its latest funding round to develop its electric propulsion technologies. The Madrid-based startup said the latest round of investment brings the total funding of IENAI to €7 million. The investors included the Spanish companies Inveready, WA4STEAM, DPM, GED Conexo Ventures, and CDTI, a Spansih government backed investor that matches private investment. Following the ...

Novocomms, the RF antenna design and manufacturing specialist, has secured £3.6 million of funding from the UK government’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) to develop 5G mmWave consumer premises equipment (CPE). To develop “the next generation” of the equipment (routers, network switches, gateways, etc), over the next 13 months, the funding will enable it to recruit up to ten new ...

Black Semiconductor, the four year-old German startup pursuing graphene ICs, has secured €228.7 million from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia over the next 7 years under the EU support structure IPCEI ME/CT. Alongside the public funding, Black Semiconductor has raised  €25.7 million in equity funding. The round was led by ...

The Airbus Zephyr HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) is at the centre of an attempt to commercialise connectivity and earth observation services using HAPS, both in Japan and across Asia. A consortium of Japanese businesses – led by NTT DOCOMO and Space Compass Corporation Inc – are investing $100m in the Japanese company AALTO HAPS, which builds and operates the ...

The EPSRC UK-RAS Network (Robotics and Autonomous Systems) has announced the launch of its first funding scheme of 2024, with ad-hoc funding available for up to £2k for suitable UK academic projects. The grants are designed “to enable academic engagement and growth in the field of Robotics and Autonomous Systems in line with the specific priorities of the UK-RAS NetworkPlus,” ...

Epishine, the Swedish indoor solar cell specialist, has raised £5 million in a private placement led by Pareto Securities. The funding enables Epishine to accelerate the commercial expansion of its technology, designed to capture indoor light to power electronics. Existing investors such as John Vigo Carlund, Philian, Jula Miljö & Energi, Klimatet Invest, and others have shown continued confidence in ...

Xona Space Systems, a startup geolocation service provider, has raised $19 million in Series A funding to develop the satellite network for its PULSAR navigation system. The company said the funding round – led by Future Ventures and Seraphim Space – was oversubscribed and new investors NGP Capital, Industrious Ventures, Murata Electronics, Space Capital, and Aloniq took part. Xona says ...

The UK Space Agency has announced £9 million of funding for satellite instruments to help monitor the climate. Delivered by the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI), the money will support 12 projects that will measure emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen dioxide. The idea is for the instruments under development to give a clearer picture of activities ...

The UK Space Agency has announced funding for 15 projects across the UK designed to inspire younger people into STEM. The awards – totalling over a £1 million – will be made from the agency’s Space for All fund, which aims to attract new talent to the UK space sector. The projects – in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales ...

Orbex, a UK spaceflight company, has raises £16.7m investment from six backers in an update to its Series C funding round. The funding will help Orbex ramp up the development of Prime, its 19-metre long, two-stage rocket for transporting small satellites into Low Earth Orbit, says the Forres-based company. The aim is to ensure full readiness for its launch period, ...