Japan-based lunar exploration company iSpace has secured $28m in series B funding from investors including air conditioning equipment maker Takasago Thermal Engineering and insurance provider Mitsui Sumitomo.
Venture capital firm Incubate Fund led the round through its SPV 1st Investment Partnership, and it also featured Space Frontier Fund, a vehicle managed by asset management firm Sparx.
Founded in 2010, iSpace is looking at building a moon exploration business, and will channel the series B funds into development of a lunar lander intended to form the basis of its first two moon missions, which are slated to take place in 2022 and 2023.
The corporates both took part in the round as strategic investors. Takasago plans to test its water electrolysis technology on the moon while Mitsui Sumitomo is exploring the possibility of selling lunar insurance products.
Space Frontier Fund counts automotive manufacturer Toyota and financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank among its limited partners.
The company said the round boosted its overall funding to $125m and placed the size of its 2017 series A round, which included Sparx, at $95m.
The series A included media company Tokyo Broadcasting System, marketing agency Dentsu, office equipment producer Konica Minolta, telecommunications firm KDDI, airline operator Japan Airlines, engineering firm Shimizu, printing services firm Toppan and motor vehicle manufacturer Suzuki.
The round was topped off by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, Development Bank of Japan and Real Tech Fund, a joint venture formed by microalgae producer Euglena and financial services group SMBC.
Image courtesy of iSpace, Inc.
