Rocket Lab has secured a second round of financing to fund the startup’s smallsat launch vehicle through to commercial flights from New Zealand in 2016. US venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) led the round with Lockheed Martin joining…
Rocket Lab has secured a second round of financing to fund the startup’s smallsat launch vehicle through to commercial flights from New Zealand in 2016.
US venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) led the round with Lockheed Martin joining as a strategic investor.
Existing investors Khosla Ventures – which led its Series A in 2013 – and K1W1 also participated.
Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said the deal will bring the group “largely through to commercial flights in 2016”, although he declined to disclose the size of the investments.
“However one can draw some conclusions given the nature and size of the project as to the funding levels,” he said.
BVP has made investments ranging from US$7,500 to US$66m in its 103-year history. It was an early investor in Californian Earth observation startup Skybox, which was sold to Google last year for US$500m.
David Cowan, a BVP partner and former Skybox board member, is joining Rocket Lab’s board as part of the funding deal. The VC firm is on the hunt for more startups to build out its space portfolio, specifically those inventing new sensors, communications, data processing, rockets, propulsion, avionics, and other critical technologies.
Its space technology team also includes Scott Smith, a former COO of US MSS operator Iridium.
Rocket Lab, which is headquartered in the US but has most of its technical staff in New Zealand, is developing a rocket called Electron that can lift up to 110kg to sun-synchronous orbit at about US$4.9m per launch.
Beck told SatelliteFinance that the group has signed up roughly 30 commercial customers, mainly from the US with some from Europe, and that it planned to post a manifest shortly.
“Launch dates range from this year on the test flight through to two years time,” he said.
The company expects to announce further details about the Electron rocket in April, and Beck said the addition of Lockheed would also pave the way for “future technology collaborations”.
In a statement, Lockheed’s chief scientist Ned Allen said: “Lockheed Martin pursues technology investments that help us keep pace with innovation across the industry.
“Rocket Lab’s work could have application in a number of aerospace domains, and we look forward to working with them to complement our overall efforts in small lift capabilities and hypersonic flight technologies.”
New Zealand’s government provided Rocket Lab with a grant worth NZ$25m (US$18.9m) in January 2014. The funding requires the group to spend at least NZ$300,000, and at least 1.5% of revenue, on R&D in the country.
