Participated · Seed · Dec 2023

Helicity Space is developing technology to propel spacecraft using short bursts of plasma fusion. The company combines plasma guns to create intense plasma heating to achieve fusion-type conditions and has demonstrated the approach with two guns, now moving to four-gun tests. Current work focuses on testing to retire technical risk and to characterize potential thrust levels for deep-space missions. Helicity positions fusion propulsion as offering very low propellant mass, high power, and the potential to enable very long-distance travel beyond Mars. Its financing history includes a seed round announced in December that featured Airbus Ventures and Voyager Space Holdings, and a new undisclosed investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures. Lockheed Martin’s backing is viewed as strategic, offering potential customer opportunities, defense-sector guidance, and credibility from LMV’s due diligence. Helicity Space develops fusion propulsion systems that rely on magneto-inertial fusion: compressing stable plasma jets with a magnetic nozzle to heat plasma to hundreds of millions of degrees and produce thrust. The company was founded in 2018 by plasma physicist Setthivoine You alongside Stephane Lintner and Marta Calvo and spent several years in stealth before raising VC capital. Its core product is a fusion drive designed specifically to push spacecraft rather than generate terrestrial grid power. The startup says the technology is uniquely adapted to space’s vacuum environment and could eventually lend itself to terrestrial reactors, though that is not the primary focus. Helicity plans to use the seed funding to build a small-scale proof-of-concept fusion drive. Over the longer term the company aims to have a full prototype flying in space in around 10 years. Leadership acknowledges the technology is early-stage and will require further de-risking as the space economy develops.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2022

Perfeggt develops a plant-based egg alternative—a liquid egg substitute formulated to reproduce the taste and texture of chicken eggs for dishes like scrambled eggs, pancakes and French toast. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Berlin. Its first product is slated for foodservice and retail launch after positive consumer tastings in Hamburg. Perfeggt says it uses pioneering research to create an authentic egg experience while pursuing a more sustainable approach to food production. The startup plans to use the fresh capital for product research and development, team growth and market launch, including further pop-up tastings across German and European cities. Financially, the company increased its pre-seed round to over €3.6 million after previously raising €2.5 million in November 2021. Perfeggt is a Berlin-based foodtech company developing a chicken-less, protein-rich liquid egg alternative made from fava beans. The product can be prepared as a scrambled egg or omelet and is formulated to mimic mouthfeel, flavors and textures of animal eggs. The company plans to debut the product in Q1 2022 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and will initially launch with food service organizations. Perfeggt conducts R&D at a site in Emsland, Germany and works closely with Wageningen University & Research to test plant-protein sources and combinations. The company is part of Lovely Day Foods GmbH and was co-founded earlier this year by CEO Tanja Bogumil, Gary Lin and Bernd Becker. The newly announced $2.8M first funding round will finance building out the team and the R&D facility and support further European expansion later in 2022. Perfeggt is hiring food scientists, marketing and R&D personnel to support its launch and product development.

Led · Equity · Sep 2021

Astrome develops 5G wireless hardware and systems, with its first two products—GigaMesh and GigaSat—targeting mobile and broadband communication infrastructure. The company says the combined addressable market for those products is $34 billion globally. Astrome will use its newly raised capital to expand into the US market, strengthen global operator trials, and accelerate commercialization through new products. It has offices in Bengaluru, India, and San Diego, California, and signed its first overseas deal with a Southeast Asian telecom operator in 2021. Financially, the company recently raised $3.4 million in a funding round. Management cites rapidly growing demand due to increased mobile and broadband needs following lifestyle changes over the past two years.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2021

Renes, Switzerland-based ClearSpace develops systems to remove orbital debris and extend satellite life. The company is preparing for ClearSpace-1, billed as the world’s first space debris removal mission, scheduled to launch in 2026. ClearSpace won a €110 million contract from the European Space Agency for the ClearSpace-1 mission in 2020 and has support from Omega. It recently announced a satellite life-extension collaboration with satcom operator Intelsat that builds on its debris-removal technology. Founders Luc Piguet and Muriel Richard-Noca said the company began four years ago and that the market is developing faster than expected. ClearSpace is establishing an operational presence in Luxembourg as part of its expansion plans. ClearSpace develops a robot 'chaser' to remove orbital debris and is building technologies for sensor fusion, autonomous navigation and space robotics. The team integrates those technologies into an agile chaser aimed at capturing debris orbiting at 7 kilometers per second at more than 600 kilometers altitude. Its principal mission, ClearSpace-1, is scheduled for 2025. The company says the new capital will be used to develop the robot cleaner and to support its international activities. ClearSpace has backing from the European Space Agency, which has invested €86 million into the ClearSpace-1 mission. CEO and co-founder Luc Piguet emphasized investor support as critical to accelerating the company’s efforts to build space sustainability. ClearSpace is an EPFL Space Center spin‑off developing agile satellites that can find, capture and remove non‑responsive and non‑functioning satellites from orbit. Its systems can navigate and catch objects semi‑autonomously using sensors and algorithms, and the company is working on a demonstrator called CleanSpace One to validate the necessary technologies. ClearSpace aims to address an estimated ~3,000 deficient satellites currently in orbit and projects that with roughly 800 small satellites expected to launch in 2022, about 100–200 defunct satellites will require deorbiting each year. To advance development, the startup secured a CHF 100,000 Tech Seed loan from the Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT), funds the company says will enable it to negotiate its first substantial fundraising. The company is based in Ecublens (VD), spun out of EPFL, and receives support from ESA BIC Switzerland, Innosuisse, EPFL and the European Space Agency. Founders Luc Piguet (CEO), Muriel Richard (Tech Lead) and Catherine Johnson (Design) lead a team of 11 employees.