An EPFL spin-off focused on the development of cornerstone in-orbit technologies and services to enable a striving, resilient and sustainable space economy, ClearSpace has announced the successful closing of its first round of financing of CHF 4 million.
Founded in 2018, the Vaud-based start-up won a major contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch the first active debris removal mission.
Over the past ten years, the number of satellites launched every year has increased tenfold to over 600 a year. At the same time, the rising amount of debris in space is a growing threat to the future and safety of space activity. Over 23,000 items of debris closely tracked.
In collaboration with renowned industrial partners, the team focuses on developing state-of-the-art technologies for sensor fusion, autonomous navigation and space robotics, integrating them into an agile chaser. The mission called ClearSpace-1 is scheduled for 2025.
The new capital injection in the amount of CHF 4 million will flow into the development of the robot cleaner and support the company’s international activities.
Luc Piguet, co-founder and CEO of ClearSpace, comments on the fundraising: “Having the confidence of experimented investors such as Swisscom, Dedicated, The Flying Object Fund, Graph Ventures and Urania Ventures, along with various private investors and family offices, is a tremendous advancement for ClearSpace. Their commitment allows us to accelerate our efforts to build space sustainability for the future”.
