PLD Space

Space · Aerospace · Launch Vehicles

Funding

PLD Space extends Series C by €108M to €288M, led by Mitsubishi Electric

The new capital lands days after a European Space Agency launch contract, showing institutional backers betting on Europe's own orbital rocket program.

• PLD Space added €108M (about $125M) to its Series C, led again by Mitsubishi Electric, bringing the round to €288M just days after a €158.9M ESA launch contract.
• Founded in 2011 in Elche, Spain, PLD Space builds the two-stage MIURA 5 rocket, designed to carry payloads up to 540kg to sun-synchronous orbit.
• The new capital will scale automated manufacturing and engine assembly across PLD Space's Elche and Teruel facilities and fund launch-pad construction at Kourou, French Guiana.
• The Series C has grown 60% since its €180M close in March, and PLD Space's total funding raised since founding now stands at €488M.
• The extension follows a €158.9M European Launcher Challenge contract from ESA and a separate €30M EIB venture-debt facility secured earlier in 2026.
• The raise comes after rival Orbex's collapse reduced Europe's active launch-provider field from five to four, leaving PLD Space among the last standing contenders.
• Heavy institutional and public-sector backing suggests investors now treat commercial launch as strategic infrastructure rather than a pure venture bet, as Europe pushes to reduce reliance on SpaceX.