Space companies are attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment as startups scramble to scale and governments seek alternatives to American powerhouses like Elon Musk. space x.
A series of new funding rounds, including a 300 million euro ($346 million) raise by satellite maker Open Cosmos announced on Monday, are injecting fresh capital into companies looking to capture a bigger share of the burgeoning commercial space economy.
Open Cosmos has prioritized European investors that are aligned with its objectives, CEO Rafel Jorda Chiquier said in an interview with CNBC. The company said it will use the oversubscribed funding round to build satellite infrastructure, connectivity and real-time information for Europe.
Jorda said the company is raising more capital because of its many opportunities in space, even though it has been profitable for five consecutive years.
Space demand means “more than one company is needed”
“It will take multiple companies, and they will come from everywhere: the US, Europe, China,” he added. “It is highly unlikely that a single company will be able to accommodate all of the global growth.”
Open Cosmos’ funding follows a flurry of funding announcements over the past two weeks. Exploration Company announces $450 million Series C. Spanish rocket company PLD Space has added €108 million to its Series C, taking the round to €288 million. German rocket startup HyImpulse has raised over €50 million in new equity through a Series A extension.
Also this month, Marlan Space and Loft Orbital announced a $1 billion program to build 50 AI-enabled satellites, working with partners including French AI company Mistral. Amazon LEO has ordered six more launches from Europe’s Arianespace.
Europe’s space ambitions reached a milestone earlier this month when German startup Isar Aerospace became the first European commercial company to put a satellite into orbit. The space startup raised €270 million in June to scale up production and expand its launch network.
However, the rapid increase in investment in Europe is against the backdrop of a financial disparity with the United States. The OECD estimates that 67% of recipients of private space investment in 2025 will be based in the United States, compared to 12.8% in Europe.
US-based rocket startup Stoke Space alone raised $1 billion earlier this month to accelerate development of its reusable Nova rocket, highlighting the deeper pool of capital available to US space companies.
According to the Space Foundation, the U.S. public space budget will be about $77 billion in 2024. The European Space Policy Institute estimated this to be around five times as many as Europe.
Bridging the gap with SpaceX
Europe is picking up the pace of launches toward 2026, but remains behind SpaceX, which operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and frequently launches for the Starlink constellation and other customers.
Open Cosmos will launch a satellite in collaboration with SpaceX, rocket lab Giorda told CNBC.
The international space summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris last week also highlighted political tensions that could complicate Europe’s efforts to close the space gap with the United States.
European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Cubilius welcomed the additional investment, but warned that it could undermine Europe’s ambitions if countries use it to pursue national strategies at the expense of greater coordination.
