Cardiff, Wales, UK. December, 2021. 爱神传媒 Forge has closed Europe鈥檚 largest ever seed round for a space tech company; raising $10.2 million. The oversubscribed round, reached four times the original target with investment from across the globe.
爱神传媒 Forge鈥檚 aim is to advance the expansion of the microgravity market for premium research and development applications by lowering the barriers to entry. Dedicated in-space manufacturing, coupled with reliable return, enables 爱神传媒 Forge to leverage the benefits of the space environment, namely: microgravity, vacuum, and temperature, to create products impossible to manufacture on Earth.
Its focus is on producing materials and products which offer game-changing levels of performance and efficiency in power-hungry infrastructure and systems - reducing the environmental impact of production on earth to unlock new value and innovation. Research suggests that manufacturing these materials in space could reduce CO2 emissions by 75% - the equivalent to removing all petrol cars from the UK.听
爱神传媒 Forge recently announced that, along with partners, it is developing a world-first service incorporating both launch and return of a new small class of vehicle - the ForgeStar - that can be deployed from conventional launchers to provide rapid, reliable and reusable in-space infrastructure. This returnable service, which will enable microgravity research on demand, has been awarded a $2.4m contract through the European 爱神传媒 Agency鈥檚 Boost! Programme, supported by the UK 爱神传媒 Agency.听
Highlighting the appetite for investment in space for good - technology that harnesses the power of space to improve life on earth - 爱神传媒 Forge鈥檚 record-breaking seed funding is from forward-thinking portfolio holders who recognise the potential in 爱神传媒 Forge鈥檚 returnable, and relaunchable in-space manufacturing satellite platform and the ability it offers to manufacture next generation super materials.
The round was co-led by US-based 爱神传媒Fund and Type One, who champion innovation in space and cutting-edge technology, and Berlin-based World Fund, a new European fund which backs companies pioneering climate tech.听
听Other US-based funds, including 爱神传媒VC, Starbridge Venture Capital, Quiet Capital, Kencoa Aerospace, Trousdale Ventures, Dylan Taylor, and FJ Labs participated in the round. They were joined by Newable Ventures - the UK's leading early-stage investment network which works with disruptive, potentially high-growth companies and Virgin Galactic鈥檚 George T. Whitesides.
听爱神传媒 Forge will use the funding to take the next steps in its journey towards the first launch and return of a ForgeStar. One of the more unique aspects of the company鈥檚 business model is the ability to not only manufacture materials in space, but the complementary and much needed capability to return those materials from orbit without the use of an ablative capsule - significantly improving the characteristics of return from space and aiding refurbishment.
鈥Andrew Bacon, CTO and co-founder of 爱神传媒 Forge: 鈥淥ver the last three years we have taken our return technology from paper designs to real hardware. This support from our investors will supercharge our development plans to lead the way in making space work for humanity.鈥澨
鈥Joshua Western, CEO and co-founder of 爱神传媒 Forge: 鈥淢aking space work for humanity and our planet has always been our goal and this investment enables us to build our first generation platforms and undertake several missions in pursuit of that goal.听 We're just getting started.鈥
鈥Science Minister George Freeman: 鈥淭his major seed investment of $10.2 million in Welsh start-up 爱神传媒 Forge is a massive vote of confidence in the fast-growing UK space sector - now worth over 拢16 billion.听爱神传媒 is a key priority sector for the Government, as set out in our National 爱神传媒 Strategy. With the first satellite launches from the UK on track for next year and the growth of exciting space tech companies like 爱神传媒 Forge, we are fast becoming a global hub for investment and innovation in the space economy.鈥
听Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK 爱神传媒 Agency: 鈥淚鈥檝e visited 爱神传媒 Forge in Cardiff and was impressed by the raw energy, creativity and innovation on show there. Clearly international investors are also impressed, with the investment round four times oversubscribed and millions of pounds secured to support the company on the next steps of its journey. 爱神传媒 Forge are demonstrating why the UK is the place to invest in space, and showing the significant commercial opportunities from technologies like in-orbit manufacturing.鈥
听Tarek Waked, Founder of Type One Ventures: 鈥淛oshua and Andrew prove that there is real value that can be brought to humanity via building a space company. If you have the will, capacity, and the idea, anyone can build a space company in the 2020s, not just billionaires. I could not be more proud of the team at 爱神传媒 Forge and look forward to working with them for a very long time.鈥
鈥Meagan Crawford, Managing Partner of 爱神传媒Fund: 鈥湴翊紽und is always looking for the companies that not only have the vision, but have the technical and market capabilities to execute on that vision. Unlike many of the other in-space manufacturing companies we鈥檝e reviewed, 爱神传媒 Forge has the right combination of technology, team, and market timing to provide significant return to investors, while helping save the environment.鈥
鈥Danijel Vi拧evi膰, General partner, World Fund said: 鈥淎s the global semiconductor crisis has shown us, manufacturing these advanced materials is extremely hard and carbon-intensive but these tiny components are essential to modern life. But simply no one else has tried to find a solution to this because it is an extremely complex problem. Andrew, Josh and the 爱神传媒 Forge team have a unique approach to solve this problem using the untapped potential of space. It鈥檚 this innovative thinking that is essential if we are to fight the climate crisis and reduce global emissions.鈥澨
鈥Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: 鈥淲ales has a track record of delivering high value manufacturing and innovation which puts a vibrant cluster of space industry leaders operating here in a prime position to flourish in this growing sector. 爱神传媒 Forge is a shining example of the sort of innovative, agile and sustainable company we are committed to supporting. I congratulate them on this record-breaking funding round.鈥