ElevationSpace, a Japanese space start-up company that develops satellites to replace the ISS, raises $2.7 million of Seed-funding

    By
    News Hub Asia Reporter
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    ElevationSpace Inc. (Headquartered: Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, Co-Founder & CEO: Ryohei Kobayashi), a space startup company that originated at Tohoku University in Japan and develops a space environment utilization and recovery platform to replace the International Space Station (ISS), has raised seed funding of $2.7 million from six investors. Adding pre-seed funding, the total amount is approximately $3 million.

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    In addition, Mr. Masafumi Kawai, Partner/Chief ESG Officer of Genesia Ventures, Inc. has been newly appointed as an outside director to strengthen the management structure and corporate governance.

    Seed Round Investors

    • Genesia Ventures, Inc.
    • Plug and Play Japan
    • Tohoku University Venture Partners Co., Ltd.
    • Innovations and Future Creation Inc.
    • MAKOTO Capital Co., Ltd.
    • Leave a Nest Capital

    With this funding, we will accelerate the development of the ELS-R100, a technical demonstration satellite that is scheduled to be launched in 2023, and focus on building an organizational structure for the research and development and business development of the ELS-R1000, a service providing satellite scheduled for 2026.

    ELS-R100 is around 150kg satellite for acquiring atmospheric re-entry technology, and it will conduct a space experiment to cultivate euglena provided by Euglena Co., a renowned Japanese biotechnology company, to utilize it as a future food and energy source in space. If this experiment is successful, it will be the first case of a Japanese spacecraft bringing back living organisms from space and be a major step toward Japan’s crewed space development.

    Comment from Ryohei Kobayashi, CEO, ElevationSpace Inc.

    Genesia Ventures has extensive connections not only in Japan but also in Asia, and we asked them to join us as a lead investor to accelerate our business development globally, including in Asia. Developing countries like Asian countries do not have enough opportunities to use ISS while their economies are growing rapidly and space development is gaining momentum. We believe it is necessary to provide opportunities to conduct experiments and demonstrate technologies in space in such regions.