Axelspace explores $23m series B round

Axelspace, a Japan-based small satellite builder spun out of University of Tokyo (UTokyo), has closed a ¥2.6bn ($22.9m) series B round backed by university venture fund UTokyo Innovation Platform.
31Ventures Global Innovation Fund, a joint venture between real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan’s 31 Ventures investment vehicle and investment firm Global Brain, led the round.
Diversified conglomerate Mitsui, insurance firm Dai-ichi Life and SBI Investment, a venture capital subsidiary of financial services provider SBI, filled out the round along with public-private partnership Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.
Founded in 2008, Axelspace is developing micro-satellites that are intended to monitor marine and atmospheric occurrences on Earth. It launched its first model,  WNISat-1, in 2013, following it with successor WNISat-1R in July 2017.
The funding will support the Axelspace’s plans to launch a satellite later this month, with two more slated for launch in 2020.
The company had raised $15m in a 2015 series A round that included SMBC Venture Capital and Seibu Shinkin Capital, the VC units owned by financial services provider Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Seibu Shinkin respectively, as well as SBI Investment and Japan Science Technology Agency.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.