Reflex Aerospace Gears Up For First Commercial Mission And Expands Investor Base
Just on time for the company’s second anniversary, Reflex Aerospace is gearing up for its first commercial space mission: The Berlin and Munich-based space start-up has secured a fixed slot for the rocket launch of its demo satellite.
The launch is set to take place in fall 2024 on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. The goal of this mission is to validate new technologies in space for the first time. The demo satellite, which weighs around 120 kilograms, is currently under development and will be assembled in Munich. The local ‘micro factory’ for the production of customer-specific satellites is scheduled to open later this year.
These steps are supported by an expansion of the so-called seed financing by a further 1.75 million euros (to a total of nearly 9 million euros). In addition to increases from existing investors, Bayern Kapital is joining the group of shareholders through its EFRE Bayern innovation fund.
Bayern Kapital ranks among the most experienced and active venture and growth investors in the German high-tech financing landscape; its investment will, among other things, support the establishment of the first micro-factory near Munich. Driven by expected commercial order intake, seed funding is expected to increase further during the year. In addition, Starburst Accelerator – one of the most renowned European accelerators for aerospace start-ups – will also be on board in the future to support the development of the international business as a partner of Reflex Aerospace, particularly in the USA and France.
Walter Ballheimer, CEO of Reflex Aerospace, welcomed the latest development: “As a new space start-up, we are of course eager to demonstrate the performance of our technologies directly in space. Therefore, we are very pleased that this milestone now comes within reach with our first fixed launch slot. The increase in our financing confirms our investors’ confidence in this goal. With this tailwind, we are pushing ahead with the construction of our micro factory, which we will open in Munich in the second half of 2023. In addition, we are fully on track to almost double our workforce across all sites to around 50 employees in 2023.”
Monika Steger, Managing Director of Bayern Kapital, adds:
“We are very pleased to add Reflex Aerospace to our aerospace portfolio. Ranking among the first investors that engaged in the field of `New Space ́, we have already invested in numerous exciting companies such as Isar Aerospace, Quantum Systems and OroraTech. Reflex Aerospace has a promising business model, and we are looking forward to supporting its further development”.
About Reflex Aerospace:
Reflex Aerospace was founded in 2021. The Berlin and Munich-based NewSpace start-up aims to modernise the market with high-performance satellites tailored to individual needs. Through software-based operations and service-oriented offers, the company meets the needs of its customers faster, at a significantly lower cost and more flexibly than established NewSpace manufacturers today. Together with its partner companies Mynaric, Isar Aerospace and SES, Reflex Aerospace is a shareholder in the joint venture UNIO, which aims to build a European satellite constellation for broadband internet. www.reflexaerospace.com
Contact:
Philipp Lehmann / +49 152 57 61 92 39 / plehmann@b2p-communications.com About Bayern Kapital: Bayern Kapital GmbH, based in Landshut (Germany), is the venture/growth capital company of the Free State of Bavaria. It supports innovative high-tech companies in Bavaria through their various growth phases, from seed to later stage, with equity capital from EUR 0.25 to 25 million. Bayern Kapital often closes gaps in the VC area in proven consortium arrangements with private investors (business angels, family offices and corporate ventures).
Bayern Kapital manages specialist investment funds with a volume of around EUR 700 million. Since its formation in 1995 at the initiative of the state government, the wholly-owned subsidiary of LfA Foerderbank Bayern has invested around EUR 400 million of its own equity capital so far in around 300 start-ups and scale-ups from industries such as life sciences, software & IT, materials & new materials, nanotechnology and environmental technology. More than 8,000 long-term jobs in sustainable companies have been created in Bavaria. The active portfolio currently comprises around 80 companies.
Examples of the many ground-breaking success stories that Bayern Kapital has already supported at an early stage include EOS (now the world’s leading technology provider in industrial 3D printing of metals and plastics), Proglove, Fazua, SimScale, Scompler, egym, Parcellab, Cobrainer, Quantum Systems, Casavi, Theva, Riskmethods, Tubulis, Catalym, Immunic, Sirion, tado and many more. www.bayernkapital.de
Contact: Florian Bergmann / +49 89 200030-39 / bayernkapital@iwk-cp.com
