The rocket launcher spinout of TUM has received $90.8m in a UVC Partners-backed round as it prepares for a first commercial launch in 2022.
Isar Aerospace, a Germany-based satellite technology launch services spinout of TU Munich, has raised €75m ($90.8m) of series B funding from investors including Unternehmertum Venture Capital (UVC) Partners, an affiliate of the university’s tech transfer arm UnternehmerTUM.
The round was co-led by Lakestar, Earlybird and Vsquared Ventures and also featured Airbus Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer Airbus, as well as HV Capital, Apeiron Investment Group and private investors Bulent Altan, Paul Achleitner and Ann-Kristin Achleitner.
Founded in 2018, Isar is working on a two-stage launch vehicle designed to deploy satellites into low-earth orbit. Its rockets use light hydrocarbon and liquid oxygen-based fuel that has a lower environmental impact than common propellants.
Daniel Metzler, a co-founder and the CEO of Isar, told TechCrunch the company aimed to launch payloads of more than 1,000kg at a price of around $10,000 per kilogram, and said it had already received $500m of customer inquiries for its services.
The company will use the funding for research, development and production activities ahead of its first commercial launches, which are planned for early 2022.
Airbus Ventures and Earlybird co-led a $17m series A round for Isar in December 2019 that included UVC Partners, Apeiron, Vito Ventures and Bulent Altan.
UVC, Vito and Altan had joined David Giger in a multi-million-dollar seed round the year before, following $57,000 from the European Space Agency.
– Feature image courtesy of Isar Aerospace. A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
