Hogan Lovells advises The Exploration Company on its $160 million Series B financing

Founded in 2021 by Hélène Huby, The Exploration Company aims to democratise space exploration by making it affordable and sustainable. The company, which has offices in Bordeaux, Munich, Houston and Turin, has created and operates Nyx, a reusable space capsule that can be used to transport goods and, eventually, people.

This all-equity round, led by Balderton Capital and Plural, brings together Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, French Tech Souveraineté, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) and Bayern Kapital, as well as the company's historical investors: EQT Ventures, Red River West, Cherry Ventures, Promus Ventures and Omnes Real Tech Fund.

This transaction will enable The Exploration Company to continue the development and testing of Nyx and to strengthen its workforce. This is the first time that France and Germany have invested together and in equal shares in a company, demonstrating the strategic dimension of this project for Europe, as this capsule is a missing link in the European space chain.

The Hogan Lovells team was led by Hélène Parent (partner) with Gautier Valdiguié (senior associate) and Pierre Blanchard (associate) in corporate in Paris, Volker Geyrhalter (partner), Cornelius Naumann (counsel) and Florian Bortfeldt (counsel), Julian Fridrich (senior associate), Hannah Wohlfarth and Ferdinand Kenter (associates) in corporate in Munich, Falk Loose and Andreas Eggert (counsels) in tax in Munich and Falk Schoening (partner), Stefan Kirwitzke (senior associate) for foreign investment aspects.