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Exotrail raises 58M$ in a Series B round

 February 7, 2023 

Exotrail has raised 58 million dollars to scale-up and pursue its ambitions for space mobility, worldwide.   

The funds raised will fuel:

-             the scale-up of Exotrail’s known products: spaceware™ space-proven electric propulsion systems and spacestudio™ mission design software;

-             the introduction and growth of Exotrail’s new products: spacetower™ operations software and its space logistics service spacedrop™ and;

-             the expansion of Exotrail’s international presence, with a strong focus on the US and Asian markets.

This Series B fundraising round brings new ambitious investors onboard: Bpifrance, already present in the capital via F3A and Digital Venture funds, led this new round via the SPI fund (Sociétés de Projets Industriels) and the Innovation Defense Fund, as well as Eurazeo, a leading European VC investing in tech champions worldwide, and the international software engineering company CELAD. All Exotrail’s historic investors – 360 Capital, Karista through the Paris Region Venture Fund, Irdi Capital Investissement, Innovacom, iXO Private Equity and NCI-Waterstart, together with BNP Paribas and Banque Populaire Val de France from BPCE Group – also participated in the round.

Based in France, Exotrail aims to build a new world of space logistics with a mission to make satellite constellations economically and environmentally sustainable. Exotrail’s products focus on satellite mobility, optimizing their deployment, increasing their service performance, and reducing space pollution. Exotrail is the first worldwide space company to offer a complete and holistic approach to space mobility with products including advanced propulsion systems, modern and intuitive mission design and satellite operation software, as well as in-space logistics services designed for constellations. The company will use the funds raised to continue innovating and developing cutting edge products to enhance its mobility offer.

Despite challenging global macro-economic market conditions, Exotrail’s Series B round was oversubscribed thanks to an outstanding commercial performance in 2022. The company has recorded steady, triple-digit growth revenue for the last few years, tripling its backlog last year. Exotrail currently employs 90 people and plans to hire more than 70 people all over the world, over the next 12 months. Its strong customer base covers North America, Europe and parts of Asia, and includes a well-balanced mix of commercial and institutional players across the space value chain – from launch service providers to satellite manufacturers and operators.

On this occasion, Exotrail’s CEO and cofounder Jean-Luc Maria, stated: “We are grateful for the trust and confidence all our investors vest in Exotrail. This series B round validates our comprehensive and logistics-driven approach to space mobility. We are now ready to accelerate our efforts in positioning our mobilityhub™ as the world reference for effectively moving assets in space. The message we are sending to all space companies wherever they are on Earth is clear: space logistics is coming, and Exotrail will be your preferred partner!”

Jean-Philippe Richard, Deputy Director of the SPI fund, and Nicolas Berdou, Investor for the Defense Innovation Fund, declared:

“Its technologies, its large-scale industrial project and its international ambitions as a provider of dual services in orbit to the space industry, are all strengths that have seduced us in the Exotrail project, supported since its creation by Bpifrance via the F3A fund and the Digital Venture fund. The combination of SPI and FID funds, bringing their expertise in industrialization and management of sovereign projects, symbolizes Bpifrance's deep ambition to support the reindustrialization of France by supporting innovative and job-creating projects in the territories such as the one carried by Exotrail”

Benoist Grossmann, Managing Partner, and Raphaël Cattan, Vice President from Eurazeo, stated: “Investing in Exotrail is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the new paradigm running today’s space sector and the transition to terrestrial logistics models in orbit. Thanks to its outstanding results, with space proven products since 2020 and a large portfolio of customers in Europe, North America and Asia, Exotrail now enters a scale-up and internationalization phase. In line with our strategy towards building technological leaders of tomorrow, this investment will enable us to accompany this very promising team to become the space logistics reference”

Vincent Gardeau, President of CELAD, added: “Joining the Exotrail adventure and its insightful team allows us to support the French space ecosystem and participate in building a new leader of in-space mobility. The synergies between our companies are obvious around our know-how in information systems and industrial computing. In particular, we support Exotrail on its software approach to the field of space logistics, the keystone of a unique global strategy on the market”