Listen to the audio version of the article
D-Orbit closes the 100 million financing round, announced in recent months, welcoming as a new significant partner the Japanese Marubeni, which led the operation, and now aims to extend the distribution of satellites and strengthen itself in services, such as cleaning up space debris.
The startup, according to Reuters, did not reveal its valuation after this new fundraising, but it was valued at more than 1.28 billion dollars in January 2022 in a merger operation which then did not go through port.
The family office Avantgarde and existing investors such as Seraphim Space Investment Trust, United Ventures, Indaco Venture Partners, Primo Ventures, Cdp Venture Capital, Neva sgr also participated in the round. D-Orbit expects support from additional investors in the first half of this year.
The funding follows triple-digit annual revenue growth from 2021, with more than €60 million generated from government and space agency contracts. D-Orbit, which has customers including the European Space Agency, Planet Labs and the University of Southern California, flies its Ion satellite launcher to different orbits to deliver customer satellites to their precise destinations. Furthermore, as mentioned, over the years it has added to its core business the offer of services such as space debris disposal, satellite refueling and space cloud computing.
This Series C funding round will allow D-Orbit to strengthen its operations in Italy and accelerate the progress of its roadmap on a global scale, with a focus on in-orbit services, space cloud computing and orbital transportation. Through this strategic partnership, D-Orbit anticipates Marubeni’s active support for the company’s growth and expansion. Additionally, D-Orbit and Marubeni will extend Marubeni’s agency mandate beyond the initial scope limited to Japan and Southeast Asia, significantly amplifying D-Orbit’s presence and service delivery to satellite operators on a global scale .