Sweden takes a bigger place in European space development - Rymdkapital joins forces with Audacia and Starburst.

Rymdkapital, the Nordics' first investment firm with a focus on new space technology joins forces with the French fund manager Audacia and Starburst, the world's largest accelerator for new space technology, new aerospace industry and defense, to set up The Expansion Fund which will be the first true pan-European fund for the space area with offices in Stockholm and Paris.

The reasons for this venture are many, but according to Ted Elvhage, it is largely about being proactive rather than reactive to the future opportunities in space. Ted describes Sweden as a well-established space nation and discusses opportunities for Sweden to take an even bigger place in the European space network.

- Sweden has a very good and experienced space industry including Sweden Space Corporation, the Swedish Space Agency and technical universities with many experienced people who are at the forefront of these fields. Much is already in place and with a new venture capital fund we hope to contribute with a very important piece of the puzzle for the future space industry, says Ted Elvhage.

Focus on innovation

The shareholders of Rymdkapital have already invested in Pythom Space and The Exploration Company, and the shareholders of Audacia and Starburst have invested in ten startup companies in the segment. Ted Elvhage, who is one of the founders of Rydmkapital, talks about the opportunities a coordinated Europe can create for future space travel.

- With The Expansion Fund, we can expect a lead financier with roots in the Nordics and France with capital to be able to scale up growth companies in space technology from seed round to Series B rounds, says Ted Elvhage.

Sweden and the Nordics in space

The three major players in venture capital are coming together to strengthen and expand the opportunities for the European space, aviation and defense sector. Audacia's, Starburst's and Rymdkapital's specialists will be able to identify startup companies with an idea and potential to be so-called "industry disruptors".

A disruptor is a company with a solution, product or idea that could fundamentally change the way a specific part of the industry works. Via the venture capital fund The Expansion Fund, these companies receive financial means to further develop their ideas but also the opportunity to talk with experts about the market and industry.

The companies behind The Expansion Fund aim to reach a venture capital fund of 300 million Euros. Ted Elvhage says it will seriously boost European space development.

- This is the capital that has been missing to create a living ecosystem in the Nordics and Europe, it will give a proper boost to technology development and entrepreneurship in space technology, and with it many more jobs in the industry, says Ted Elvhage.