- Eight new investors from the EU and U.S. show high market trust (Comprising Expansion and BayBG (as leads) as well as HTGF (seed round lead, bringing in fresh money), Aurelia Foundry, Ventis, Rymdkapital and Decisive Point Europe)
- Investment used to quadruple production of actuators (tapping into a forecast of over 100,000 satellite in the next years), pioneer in-space manufacturing (enabling high power satellites or spacetug satellite taxis while opening the door to future innovations like space solar power or lunar bases) and open a U.S. office (extending presence in the world´s largest NewSpace market, and establishing a U.S. team under the leadership of Andria Fortier)
Munich, Germany, Westminster, Colorado, August 5th, 2024 – Dcubed, a German NewSpace supplier, has successfully closed its Series-A funding round to boost further growth in the global space market. Mirroring the rising global positioning of Dcubed in the NewSpace market, the financing round attracted a broad diversity of eight international investors across Europe and the U.S. Due to this strong investor’s demand, the round was oversubscribed by 26%. The fresh funding will be used to scale the current production of satellite actuators. At the same time, Dcubed will drive its leading position in the sector of in-space manufacturing, which is largely seen as one of the key enabler technologies for future space applications. Also, to propel both endeavors, the company extends its footprint in the world´s largest space market by opening a U.S. office.
Thomas Sinn, CEO of Dcubed, said:
“Despite a tight global finance environment, investors notably oversubscribed our Series A round. This funding round proves high market trust in our capabilities. Together with our global investors, we now have a solid foundation to boost future growth in the booming space market. With the fresh funding, we will quadruple the production of our current product. At the same time, we are chasing `the next big thing´ in space by taking a trailblazing role in the field of in-space manufacturing. By opening our U.S. office, we tap into the world´s most vibrant space ecosystem to further expand our global footprint and develop space innovations for the years to come.”
Ted Elvhage, General Partner at Expansion Aerospace Ventures, added:
“Space is among the most rapidly evolving markets, expected to quadruple from about $500 billion to $2 trillion in just a decade. Dcubed has all the necessary assets to jump on this steep growth trajectory: It combines high-quality German engineering with a strong global business. It combines a space-proven product in the rising satellite business with a leading position in the future market of in-space manufacturing. We are glad to become part of this success story and to support Dcubed in conquering the next orbits.”
Alois Ganter, Investment Manager at BayBG Venture Capital, outlined:
“Having funded over 100 companies in the past 20 years, Dcubed is the first NewSpace equity investment of BayBG VENTURE CAPITAL. Our decision reflects the crucial role that space technologies play in driving all sectors on Earth – from connectivity and mobility to security and sovereignty. Dcubed has built a strong position while entirely financing its past growth via customer orders. The NewSpace race has started, and, together with Dcubed and our co-investors, we are glad to take a pole position.”
Ariel Ekblaw, General Partner at Aurelia Foundry, added:
“From climate change to economic growth: NewSpace is among the key enablers for solving critical challenges on Earth. To drive this development, the U.S. certainly provides the most flourishing ecosystems and is also one of the most competitive. With its already strong U.S. business – having delivered products for a who’s who of aerospace customers – Dcubed has proven to be a rapid innovator and trusted supplier with immense opportunity to scale. We are glad to propel this journey with our expertise and partners.”
Christian Ziach, Principal at HTGF, rounded up:
“Deep tech and NewSpace start-ups have to show that they can make money while pursuing a big vision. Dcubed has done this impressively in recent years. As lead investor in the seed round, I am very pleased about the completion of the Series A and see my investment thesis confirmed.”
The funding round is spearheaded by lead investors Expansion (a new Franco-Swedish fund which is one of the largest European VC funds dedicated to New Space and New Air Mobility) and BayBG (one of the leading investors in developing Bavarian tech for over half a century). Co-investors from Europe comprise High-Tech-Gründerfonds (ranking among Europe´s largest tech funds), Dcubed’s seed lead investors that confirmed its trust in the company by bringing in fresh investment, as well as Rymdkapital (Sweden’s leading venture capital firm for soaring space companies). Further German uplift is fueled by Ventis Capital (a family-backed investor specialized in driving entrepreneurs at early-stage growth) and Decisive Point Europe (experts in scaling and M&A). The European investor portfolio is complemented by Aurelia Foundry (a leading U.S. deep tech fund with deep roots in the U.S. NewSpace ecosystem).
The latest investment will be used to scale Dcubed’s production. Besides further driving the manufacturing of satellite solar arrays in a unique origami foldable design, the plans mainly comprise quadrupling the output of actuators by the end of 2024. This technology is a critical mechanism in satellites of all sizes, used to hold components securely in place during launch and then reliably released once in space. Over the past four years, Dcubed has developed into a leading supplier of actuators for new space applications. Going forward, the company will benefit from the sharp increase in expected satellite launches – predicted to add more than 100,000 satellites to the currently 10,000 satellites in the next few years. To meet this growing demand, Dcubed will continue standardizing its products and facilitate future sales by introducing a first-of-its-kind online store for space products. This online shop will allow customers to order their products just as they do with other major online retailers.
As part of its strategic roadmap, Dcubed will invest in in-space manufacturing, a highly innovative capability will be an indispensable prerequisite to enabling a broad range of future space applications. Whether it is enabling high power communication constellations or the next generation of spacetug (taxiing satellites to their orbits) all the way to space solar power and the exploration of our solar system: to make these innovations a reality, it will not be enough to simply launch existing space technology into space the way it has always been done. Instead, it must be built and validated in space. Building in space allows for optimized design for high performance in space instead of building solutions that must withstand high stress during transportation. This way, ISM will save significant time and money to build, test, and launch complex structures on Earth. Dcubed is taking a global leadership role in ISM by performing a demonstration in 2025 by 3D-printing a high-performance satellite solar array in free space, a world’s first. This future technology is already underway as Dcubed received a €9,5 million EU contribution from the European Innovation Council of the European Commission (EC EIC) in July 2024.
Reinforcing its growth, Dcubed opened a U.S. office in Westminster, Colorado, a major NewSpace hub boasting one of the world’s highest concentrations of space companies, research institutions, and qualified workforce. Dcubed’s U.S. office is established within Advanced Space’s building. Dcubed will directly benefit from the network of this leading U.S. space company and nearby customers. Today, the U.S. accounts for more than half of Dcubed’s client base, and the U.S. entity aims to grow its team into the double digits in 2025. The development will be led by Dcubed’s new U.S. Managing Director, Andria Fortier – who will spearhead U.S. operations and drive the growth of strategic relationships with American customers and partners. She brings nearly a decade of experience in the aerospace and defense industry across disciplines ranging from marketing and strategy to management consulting.
