Insider Brief:
- Alpine Space Ventures has closed its first fund, totaling €170 million, to support Series A rounds. The fund targets startups that serve or utilize the global space industry.
- This is the largest first-time VC fund raise globally dedicated to the space sector.
- While primarily concentrating on European companies, the fund is also flexible and can invest in the U.S. and other regions.
- The firm has already added five companies to its portfolio: K2 Space, Reflex Aerospace, Morpheus Space, Blackwave, and Source Energy.
Alpine Space Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the European space industry, announced the closing of its first fund, totaling €170 million. This fund is the largest first-time VC fund dedicated to the space sector globally.
The fund aims to support Series A rounds, targeting startups that serve or utilize the global space industry. The focus is on industrializing the space sector and providing hardware and software solutions for connectivity and data. While primarily concentrating on European companies, the fund also has the flexibility to invest in the U.S. and other regions, leveraging the team’s strong industry relationships, particularly with SpaceX’s early leadership team.
Alpine Space Ventures plans to build a concentrated portfolio of 10-15 companies, with initial investments of up to €5 million each and significant funds reserved for follow-on rounds. The firm has already added five companies to its portfolio: K2 Space, Reflex Aerospace, Morpheus Space, Blackwave, and Source Energy. These startups are developing innovative solutions in satellite manufacturing, in-space mobility, carbon-fiber pressure tanks, and spacecraft solar panels.
The investment team at Alpine Space Ventures brings over 50 years of experience in building products, teams, and companies within the NewSpace industry. Founding Partner Bulent Altan, a former early leader at SpaceX, and Joram Voelklein, an experienced tech investor, lead the team. Their expertise is further enhanced by the firm’s investor base, which includes over 20 early SpaceX employees, the European Investment Fund (EIF), the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), and several high-profile family offices.
“We are looking forward to putting the fund’s capital to work and continuing to support the industry’s best entrepreneurs,” said Altan. “We invest in teams with strong market understanding, who prioritize customer needs and iterate quickly through technical solutions to build the best commercial products.”
Voelklein added, “Today’s a great day for the ecosystem as we make significant smart money available to scale up space-enabled solutions globally and across industries. We are still in the early days of the European space ecosystem, and this is the perfect time to inject further momentum into it.”
