Challenging SpaceX... Europe's TEC Pursues Investments Worth Hundreds of Billions of Won

A European space startup has embarked on securing large-scale investments to develop reusable spacecraft.

Citing sources, the Financial Times (FT) reported that the French startup The Exploration Company (TEC) is discussing a new investment round worth at least 300 million dollars (approx. 440 billion won).

If successful, TEC's corporate valuation is expected to exceed 2 billion dollars (approx. 2.9 trillion won).

According to the FT, the Scaleup Europe Fund, backed by the European Commission and managed by Swedish investment firm EQT, is considering participating as an early investor in this investment round.

This fund was created to invest in promising European companies in highly competitive fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, and semiconductors.

Founded in 2021 by French female space entrepreneur Helene Huby, TEC aims to develop Europe's first reusable spacecraft to transport cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and eventually humans in the future, emerging as Europe's leading space startup challenging Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The spacecraft under development is named Nyx, and its rocket engine is named Storm.

While TEC has conceived its own reusable heavy-lift rocket named Yrene by bundling nine Storm engines, it reportedly plans to rely on existing launch vehicles such as Ariane 6 for the first launch of Nyx scheduled for 2028.

TEC previously raised about 160 million dollars (approx. 235 billion won) in 2024 without disclosing its corporate valuation.

It has bases in Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain, and Italy, along with offices in the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It is also one of only two companies that received initial funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) with the goal of establishing low Earth orbit (LEO) commercial services by 2028.

Meanwhile, the Bromo project, in which traditional aerospace giants Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo are merging their satellite business units under the banner of a "European SpaceX," is nearing its filing for antitrust review by the EU competition authority.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.