Japan's Axelspace gets $23m Series B
Axelspace, a Japanese start-up focused on ready-to-launch microsatellite technology, has raised a JPY2.6 billion ($23 million) Series B round led by Global Brain and property developer Mitsui Fudosan.
Global Brain and Mitsui Fudosan invested via a joint venture known as 31 Ventures that was set up in 2016 with a JPY5 billion fund. Several other VCs and corporates also participated in the round, including Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, SBI Investment, Innovation Platform for the University of Tokyo, and Dai-ichi Life Insurance.
According to a statement, Axelspace will use the capital to advance its work in next-generation earth observation infrastructure. This effort is planned to include the launch this month of a satellite known as GRUS (pictured), which will be capable of taking color photographs with 2.5-meter ground resolution from a 600-kilometer orbit. A planned constellation of GRUS satellites would collect images daily for use in primary industries, disaster monitoring, and mapping.
Japan has proven a leading jurisdiction for space technology development and investment in Asia. Recent activity in this segment includes a $7.3 million round for cloud-based satellite telecom technology provider Infostellar and a $90.2 million round for iSpace, a company developing a range of lunar exploration and payload delivery technologies. At the time, the iSpace round was said to be the largest Series A ever raised in Japan.
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