Swiss space mobility startup PAVE Space secured $40 million in seed funding as it prepares for the launch of an initial demonstration mission later this year.
Founded in 2024 as a spin-off from the student-led Gruyère Space Programme, which developed a small reusable rocket demonstrator that completed over 50 flights, PAVE Space aims to develop space mobility solutions with a focus on transporting satellites rapidly between orbits. The company’s future flagship offering is its LYOBA heavy-lift kick stage, designed to carry payloads of up to 5 tonnes. The company is also working on a small “high-mobility orbital platform” called IBEX.
On 25 March, the company announced that it had closed a $40 million seed funding round led by European venture capital firms Visionaries Club and Creandum. According to the company, the new funding will be used to accelerate the development of its heavy-lift kick stage, execute its first in-orbit demonstration, expand its engineering and operations teams, prepare for its first commercial mission, and conduct the first ground firing of its propulsion system.
“The space economy is entering an industrial phase where logistics will become as critical in orbit as they are on Earth,” said PAVE Space CEO Julie Böhning. “Our ambition is to build the infrastructure that allows industries to move, operate, and scale beyond Earth, while ensuring Europe retains sovereign capabilities in this next strategic domain.”
Despite being less than two years old, PAVE Space has stated that it has secured eight reservation agreements with satellite operators and manufacturers. The company is also in discussions with several of what it describes as “major industry players.”
The company is currently working on its first mission, dubbed GRAZE, designed to de-risk its avionics architecture in orbit. According to the company, the demonstrator was designed and built in three months and is expected to be launched in October. In addition to an initial demonstration mission, the company is also preparing to test the main engine of its LYOBA kick stage at a decommissioned thermal power plant in Valais, Switzerland. The company expects to begin the first test campaign in the summer.
Keep European Spaceflight Independent
Your donation will help European Spaceflight to continue digging into the stories others miss. Every euro keeps our reporting alive.
