Japan's aStart launches second dedicated space tech fund

According to a statement, the capital was raised in two months, reflecting strong demand for space start-ups despite pandemic-related uncertainty. The final targeted corpus is unclear.

It brings aStart’s total funds raised to JPY11.5 billion, including a JPY5 billion final close last year for Space aStart No. 1, which received LP support from IT services provider I-Net Corp and advertising technology company United. AStart also raised two small sector-agnostic funds in 2015 and 2018.

Space aStart No.2 will invest locally from seed to expansion stages. Early activity includes participation in a $191 million Series E round last week for Astroscale, a start-up focused on cleaning up orbital debris. That round was led by aStart’s first fund, according to a separate disclosure, and also featured I-Net. AStart has backed Astroscale since 2017.

Previous investments include participation in a $100 million Series A last year for satellite and geospatial data services provider Synspective that was said to be the fastest-ever capital raising exercise for a space start-up globally. The company’s core innovation is a microwave-based system that, unlike optical sensors, can be used day or night and in all weather conditions.

Japan is a leading jurisdiction in Asia for space technology development and investment. Several dedicated industry funds are being raised, among them Sparx Group’s Space Frontier Fund, which launched in May and is targeting JPY15 billion. At least JPY8.2 billion has been raised to date from local corporate and financial institutions. Sparx is also an investor in Astroscale.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Technology
• Venture
• Fundraising
• Japan
• space