EQT's acquisition of Exolaunch marks the first major private equity foray into satellite launch services, valuing the SpaceX partner at roughly $348 million.
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EQT buys Exolaunch in $348M-plus bet on space economy
EQT's acquisition of Exolaunch marks the first major private equity foray into satellite launch services, valuing the SpaceX partner at roughly $348 million.
Private equity fund EQT is acquiring Berlin-based Exolaunch, a satellite launch partner of Elon Musk's SpaceX, in a deal valued at roughly $348 million — its first investment in the space industry.
"There has never been a better time to be in the space economy," said Robert Sproles, chief executive officer of Exolaunch, in an interview. "There is such tremendous growth, it really is a confluence of technology, demand, end-product use and funding that is coming together to enable these opportunities."
The investment comes from EQT's flagship private equity fund, which writes equity checks ranging from €300 million to €1.5 billion. The Exolaunch acquisition was at the lower end of that range, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed. Exolaunch has deployed more than 790 satellites across 47 missions for over 200 commercial and government customers from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The deal shows growing institutional appetite for space infrastructure as launch costs fall and satellite-based services expand. EQT plans to grow Exolaunch's operations globally and invest in new satellite deployment technologies, with the company's first dedicated Falcon 9 missions — Exo-1 and Exo-2 — already scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
A German Space Startup's Decade of Growth
Exolaunch was spun out of the department of space technology at the Technical University of Berlin in 2013, founded by associate professor Dmitriy Sternharz. The company has maintained a strategic relationship with SpaceX since 2020, participating in every Falcon 9 Transporter and Bandwagon rideshare mission since the programs began. That partnership has been central to its growth, giving it access to the world's most active launch provider at a time when satellite deployment demand is surging.
"It is a fantastic moment to invest in that company both from a market perspective but also where the company is in terms of its development," said Nils Ketter, partner and head of industrial technology in the EQT Private Equity advisory team. He added that EQT had been tracking Exolaunch since last year, calling it "a bit of a hidden gem of German industry."
What EQT's Backing Means for the Sector
The acquisition shows that private equity sees the space launch services market as commercially mature enough for institutional investment. EQT's flagship fund typically deploys between €300 million and €1.5 billion per deal, and the Exolaunch investment at the lower end suggests room for follow-on capital as the company scales. The firm plans to expand Exolaunch's operations beyond Europe into North America and Asia, where demand for satellite launch services is growing fastest.
The broader space economy has attracted increasing investor attention as launch costs have fallen sharply over the past decade, driven largely by SpaceX's reusable rocket technology. Satellite constellations for communications, Earth observation and defense are expanding rapidly, creating a need for reliable launch integration services that companies like Exolaunch provide. The last major private equity deal in the space sector was a $1.1 billion investment in satellite operator OneWeb in 2022, before its merger with Eutelsat — a benchmark that suggests Exolaunch's valuation reflects its earlier-stage position in the launch services value chain.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
