The Exploration Company with SpaceX ambitions aiming for a $2bn valuation

An ambitious European space start-up is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for its plan to develop reusable space capsules in a bid to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The Exploration Company (TEC) is discussing raising at least $300mn in new money that could value the company at more than $2bn once the fresh investment is taken into account, according to people familiar with the matter.

Brussels’ new flagship Scaleup Europe Fund, an investment vehicle backed by the European Commission and managed by Swedish investment group EQT, is discussing making one of its first investments into TEC as part of the deal, the people added.

The people cautioned that talks remained ongoing and that figures could yet shift, with no final decisions taken yet.

EQT and TEC declined to comment.

Founded in 2021 and led by chief executive officer Hélène Huby, TEC is one of Europe’s most high-profile start-ups seeking to eventually challenge the dominance of US space groups.

The company has been competing to develop Europe’s first reusable capsule to transport cargo — and the hope is, eventually, people — to the International Space Station. TEC last raised about $160mn in 2024 without disclosing its valuation.

TEC operates out of Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy and has offices in the US and UAE.

The company emerged a couple of years ago as one of just two groups to win initial funding from the European Space Agency to build a commercially credible service to low Earth orbit by 2028. Its current family of spacecraft in development is called Nyx. It is also now developing Storm, a rocket engine, according to its website.

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The Scaleup Europe Fund was designed to invest in promising European companies in competitive sectors such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and semiconductors.

EQT chief executive Per Franzén told the FT that he expects the fund to surpass its planned €5bn target due to strong investor interest.

TEC has previou…