Landmark financing co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico, and the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, will advance Nyx reusable capsule toward a mission to dock with the International Space Station and return to Earth, while accelerating development of the high-thrust reusable Storm rocket engine.

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• Nyx capsule is the near-term priority: The reusable and launcher-agnostic spacecraft will serve public & private space stations. Its first full-scale orbital demonstration will include docking with the International Space Station and returning safely to Earth.

• Storm high-thrust rocket engine is the next strategic capability: This marks the first time in Europe that such a significant level of funding has been committed to developing a reusable, high-thrust rocket engine powered by liquid oxygen and biomethane and based on a full-flow staged-combustion cycle—designed to propel a future reusable European heavy-lift launcher.  

• European roots, global mission: New US and European investors join existing European backers as TEC expands its industrial base and international workforce.

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PARIS, 8 September 2026: The Exploration Company (TEC), a European space company scaling globally, today announced a $450 million Series C financing, the largest-ever Series C announced by a European space company. It also marks the largest funding round ever secured by an EU-headquartered company led by a female founder and CEO. The round is co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico, and the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, with participation from TEC’s existing European backers including Balderton, Plural, Cherry and Red River West.

“Everyone on Earth depends on infrastructure in space, yet the ability to reach, supply and return from orbit remains rare,” said Hélène Huby, Founder and CEO of The Exploration Company. “This financing will allow us to execute with urgency: to bring Nyx to the International Space Station and safely back to Earth, while accelerating Storm, the high-thrust propulsion capability Europe needs for its future reusable heavy launcher. We are scaling from Europe with talent, customers and partners from around the world because the next generation of space transportation must be built to serve more nations, industries and people – and because our mission is to contribute to build a more collaborative and peaceful future in space.”

Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, commented:

“Just before the International Space Summit in Paris, The Exploration Company has secured the largest Series C raised by a European space company. TEC’s transformational ambitions and excellence in execution, driven by the French German engine, are an inspiration for the space companies we build together in Europe.”

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, added:

“This is a strong moment for Europe’s space industry. It shows what Europe can achieve when talent, ambition and innovation are matched with capital. A company built across several Member States and supported by the Scaleup Europe Fund has secured major financing to build critical space capabilities and scale them here in Europe. And its success sends an important message about women’s leadership in high technology.”

The financing expands TEC’s investor base across both sides of the Atlantic while maintaining a strong European foundation, bringing long-term capital behind a shared objective: to scale reusable space transportation platforms capable of serving customers and institutions across borders. Bessemer’s Alex Ferrara will join the TEC board of directors. The financing brings TEC’s total funding secured to date to approximately $680 million.

Space infrastructure already underpins communications, scientific research, security, and critical services on Earth. Yet the ability to reach, supply and return from orbit remains concentrated and fragile, just as demand for space-station logistics, in-orbit services and resilient infrastructure is accelerating. TEC is addressing these constraints by building reusable transportation systems for both public agencies and commercial operators.

The Nyx capsule remains TEC’s near-term priority and the foundation of its reusable space transportation platform. Nyx is designed to carry cargo to current and future space stations and return it safely to Earth, with the growth potential to carry crew afterwards. It will dock with the International Space Station before returning to Earth, demonstrating an end-to-end capability for reusable orbital transportation.

The Series C financing will accelerate the development of Storm, TEC’s next strategic capability. Storm is Europe’s first reusable high-thrust rocket engine using a full-flow staged combustion cycle with oxygen and methane as propellants. Designed to deliver efficiency and thrust currently unmatched in Europe, Storm will provide the propulsion foundation for a future reusable and affordable European super-heavy launcher capable of placing up to 40 tons into low Earth orbit in reusable configuration. The funding will allow TEC to perform a series of tests, ranging from pre-burners tested with a subscale thrust chamber in the next months; an ox-rich power pack test; and a workhorse engine test in the next few years.

The Series C round builds on rapid commercial and program execution. TEC has won more than $2 billion in contracts and commitments globally, balanced between public-sector programs and private-sector customers. These include the European Space Agency (ESA), alongside commercial space stations' cargo logistics agreements. TEC’s institutional partnerships extend beyond Europe as the first European space startup to sign a Space Act Agreement with NASA, working closely with the agency on technical and safety qualification and certification activities supporting its future missions to the ISS and commercial stations.

Investor perspectives

“Space sovereignty is increasingly critical for Europe’s national security, particularly as space becomes the infrastructure layer that the modern economy runs on. Europe cannot rent its way to owning that access”, said Alex Ferrara, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “Hélène and the team at The Exploration Company have shown they can execute against the hardest problems in the industry with Nyx while they continue to drive new innovation with Storm. We believe they have the potential to become one of the most important companies in Europe and globally, and we’re proud to continue to back the team.”

“Europe’s technological resilience will depend on its ability to turn world-class engineering into industrial capabilities at scale. By advancing Nyx and Storm, TEC is addressing two of the most important constraints in space transportation and developing technologies whose significance extends far beyond any single mission,” said Laura Connell, Managing Partner at Atomico. “Hélène and her exceptional team are proving that European companies can combine the ambition, expertise and execution needed to lead on the global stage.”

“Hélène and the team have moved with extraordinary speed from ambition to real engineering and commercial execution. We’ve had the privilege of supporting that journey from an early stage through EQT Ventures. As access to space becomes increasingly critical infrastructure, building this capability in Europe while competing globally matters. We’re proud to continue supporting TEC’s next phase through the Scaleup Europe Fund,” said Ted Persson, Partner, EQT and Co-Head of the Scaleup Europe Fund.

The financing, which is subject to applicable regulatory approvals, will support continued hiring and industrial scale-up across engineering, manufacturing, mission operations, propulsion and program delivery. TEC employs more than 550 people across Europe, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, bringing together international talent to develop, manufacture and operate its space transportation systems.

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About The Exploration Company

The Exploration Company (TEC) is a global space company with European roots, building spacecraft for humanity. Working across nations to foster collaboration in space, it develops the full stack of space transportation - including reusable capsules and high-thrust engines - to carry cargo and, ultimately, people to space and safely back home.  

Founded in 2021 by Hélène Huby and a team of aerospace veterans, TEC serves space agencies and commercial operators. It is backed by top-tier venture investors and expanding across sites in Europe, the United States, and the UAE. For more information, visit exploration.space. Media contact: media@exploration.space

Media Kit

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About Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs lay strong foundations from inception to build long-standing companies. With more than 155 IPOs and 450-plus portfolio companies across industries, Bessemer supports founders and CEOs from seed through every stage of growth. Bessemer has backed industry defining companies including Anthropic, Abridge, Canva, LinkedIn, Perplexity, Pinterest, RocketLab, Shopify, ServiceTitan, Toast, and Twilio, and has $20 billion of assets under management. Bessemer invests globally, with investment teams located in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, London, Bangalore, and Tel Aviv. www.bvp.com

About Atomico

Atomico is the founder-built venture capital firm. For two decades, we have partnered with Europe’s most ambitious entrepreneurs using technology to rewire the world and strengthen Europe’s long-term resilience.

Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström launched Atomico in 2006 on the conviction that Europe’s best founders should be able to build global companies without leaving Europe to do it. That conviction continues to guide us: backing founders building critical technological capabilities in Europe, reducing strategic dependencies and strengthening its global leverage. With dedicated teams in Paris, Berlin, London and Stockholm, Atomico partners with founders at every stage of their journey.

150 of Europe’s most ambitious founders have partnered with Atomico, including Aiven, Bird Callosum, DeepL, Hinge Health, Jobandtalent, Klarna, Mews, Neko Health, Pipedrive, Stripe, Supercell, Perk and Wellhub.

About The Scaleup Europe Fund

The Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, is a commercially driven alternative investment fund backing ambitious European technology companies with the potential to become global leaders. Targeting €5 billion, the Fund brings together public and private capital and invests across Deeptech, AI and Life Sciences. http://scaleupeuropefund.eu/

EQT is a global investment organization with a Nordic heritage and more than three decades of experience developing companies. EQT invests across the full lifecycle of companies, from start-up to maturity. https://eqtgroup.com/