A U-Space nanosatellite. Photo: U-Space

French smallsat manufacturer U-Space raised a 24 million euro ($28 million) Series A round, with backing from the French Ministry of Armed Forces Definvest fund. 

The startup has launched three satellites to orbit and plans to use the new funding to scale production and expand into international markets, particularly Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. 

The Series A round was led by Blast and the Definvest fund managed by Bpifrance, and Expansion. Other investors included Italy’s Primo Space, Karot Capital, ARIS, and Vertech Finance.

“Through its excellence and the quality of its teams, U-Space actively contributes to the France’s sovereign ambitions in the space sector. With its initial successes paving the way for many more to come, it was only natural for Definvest to renew its support,” said François Charbonnier, Investment Director at Bpifrance.

The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Toulouse. Its offerings include two modular satellite platforms, the 12U and Free Form, and proprietary software. The company has a production facility called U-Zine to support building satellite constellations with automated production. 

U-Space has two nanosatellites on the upcoming Transporter-13 rideshare mission: the PANDORE in-orbit demonstration to test several technologies and SOAP as the first space system fully designed, built, and operated by the company.

Definvest also recently invested in French optical ground station tech company Cailabs.