Airbus Ventures launches $155 million fund focused on deep tech, including space

Airbus Ventures, one of the most prolific investors in space startups, has raised a $155 million fund that it plans to deploy across the burgeoning space sector, as well as the broader "deep tech" ecosystem.

"This fund is designed to unlock new possibilities, and space is one of them," Thomas d'Halluin, managing partner of Airbus Ventures, told CNBC.

The move comes as investment in the space industry, especially from venture capital, has been rebounding after two lean years.

Airbus Ventures' new "Fund-Y" is targeting long-term opportunities in early stage deep tech startups —which d'Halluin defines as "going back to the laws of physics and and not being afraid of what's difficult." Historically, deep tech is a classification for companies working on technologies that face steep scientific or engineering obstacles.

Founded in 2016, Airbus Ventures takes a different tack from traditional corporate venture capital arms. The firm maintains a gap from its eponymous corporation, the European aerospace company, and more than half of Fund-Y comes from outside capital such as institutional investors, private equity, and family offices. 

Airbus Ventures currently has $465 million under management, with Fund-Y marking its fourth fund to date. 

About a third of Airbus Ventures' capital deployed so far has been in the space sector, the firm said, backing 14 pure-play companies in the sector, with notable investments including propulsion startup Impulse, lunar cargo company ispace and tracking service LeoLabs.

"This is about patience. Often, and too often, people want immediate reward. Space is not a place of immediate reward," d'Halluin said.

He emphasized the importance of funding founders with the "extremely rare" trait of great execution, highlighting Airbus Ventures' backing of Impulse. The startup was founded by Tom Mueller, best known for developing SpaceX's family of rocket engines.

"Impulse was successful on its first mission because of the 17 years of experience of Tom at SpaceX," d'Halluin said.

"That element of human capital we see often neglected in deep tech diligence — this notion of who's capturing the execution and the knowledge and the skill set in a particular company — is what we're pointing towards," he added.

While Airbus Ventures has traditionally deployed the majority its funds in the U.S., d'Halluin said it intends for Fund-Y to be global. In particular, he sees "very strong momentum" for space startups in Europe and Japan.