Blackbird joins $14m round for Australia space player

Other investors included US-based 500 Startups and Main Sequence Ventures, which manages the Australian government’s CSIRO Innovation Fund. The capital will be used to scale-up operations and launch a commercial rocket into space in 2020.

"No longer is Australia only focusing on so-called downstream applications, but now with Gilmour will also have the capability of launching satellites for both commercial and national benefit,” Martin Duursma, a partner at Main Sequence, said in a statement. “We are excited to support the company in its growth in Australia and beyond."

Gilmour aims to launch a commercial vehicle capable of carrying 100 kilograms into orbit. It plans to follow up with a rocket capable of transporting a 400-kg payload by 2021. This effort will leverage a rapid rise in demand for small satellite services as well as underlying demand for next-generation data infrastructure. 

Rick Baker, co-founder of Blackbird, said Gilmour was well on its way to building and launching a rocket for under $30 million. The aggregate capital required to effectuate a first launch has traditionally ranged in the tens of billions of dollars.

Blackbird, which closed its third Australian VC fund in July at A$261 million, led the company’s $5 million Series A last year shortly after backing Fleet, an Australian satellite player targeting the internet-of-things (IoT) industry.

In March, Main Sequence participated in a $15 million round for Australian orbital IoT company Myriota, alongside Blue Sky Venture Capital, Right Click Capital, Singapore’s Singtel Innov8, and Boeing HorizonX Ventures. At the time, the investment was touted as the largest round ever raised by a start-up developing space-related IoT technology.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Early-stage
• Infrastructure
• Technology
• Australia
• Blackbird Ventures