Arkadia Space, a Spanish company specializing in chemical propulsion systems for satellites and spacecrafts, announces the closure of a €2.8 million Seed funding round from private and public sources. The oversubscribed round was led by Draper B1, a VC based in Valencia and part of the Draper Venture Network, founded by the renowned American investor Tim Draper. It also received significant backing from Expansion Ventures, a VC specialized in the space sector.
“We are very excited about our investment in Arkadia, a promising venture in the aerospace sector. Francho and his team have managed to develop a market-ready product in less than 3 years and secure significant strategic partnerships. This indicates, on one hand, excellent execution by the team and, on the other hand, a growing maturity in Spanish’ Spacetech sector, in which Draper B1 wants to be present,” stated Raquel Bernal, Managing Partner Investment Director at Draper B1.
In addition, Charles Beigbeder, Chairman of Audacia and Expansion’s Founding partner, has pointed out: “we are delighted to accompany Arkadia in the development of their first green chemical thrusters for satellites and space vehicles. We have no doubt that Francho and his experienced founding team have the energy, the ambition and the skills needed to bring green propulsion technology up to space and to contribute to the future of in-space transportation.”
Arkadia Space also secured investments from Business Angels from Valencia and Castellón, along with prominent figures in the space industry such as Pedro Duque, Spanish astronaut, and Antoine de Chassy, founder of successful New Space company Loft Orbital. Both Duque and de Chassy are joining Arkadia Space as advisors.
“We are proud to have the support of top-tier funds like DraperB1 and Expansion, who have firmly decided to invest in the growth of the space sector in Spain. We are also honoured to have first class advisors, whose experience and network will be vital for Arkadia’s success in the coming years,” emphasized Francho Garcia, CEO, and co-founder of Arkadia Space.
Currently, the company operates an orbital engines Test Center at Castellón Airport, the first 100% privately managed facility of its kind in Europe. Thanks to this funding round, Arkadia Space will expand its facilities and workforce with the goal of accelerating the development of hypergolic bipropellant engines and as well as supporting the development of the highest-thrust engine the company has worked on to date: a project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) which marks Arkadia’s third and last contract with ESA, this one under the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP).
The company will begin selling its first engines (5N monopropellant thruster) in 2024, aiming to conduct a first demonstration flight by the end of the same year, a milestone that Arkadia Space will achieve with the investment obtained in this funding round.