The Exploration - About the company
The Exploration is a series C company based in Planegg (Germany), founded in 2021 by Sebastien Reichstadt, Jon Reijneveld, Helene Huby and Nils Bernhardt. It operates as a Developer of reusable space vehicles for cargo transport to space stations. The Exploration has raised $680M in funding from investors like Balderton Capital, Promus Ventures and Red River West. The company has 177 active competitors, including 56 funded and 11 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like SpaceX, Skyroot and Firefly Aerospace.
Company Details
Developer of reusable space vehicles for cargo transport to space stations. The company designs modular and refillable vehicles for low-Earth orbit and beyond. These vehicles are launcher agnostic and intended to serve space stations. They incorporate orbital propulsion, docking mechanisms, and re-entry and recovery capabilities.
- Website
- exploration.space
- Email ID
- *****@exploration.space
- Registered Address
- Landkreis Starnberg Friedrichshafener Str. 1 c/o ESA BIC, 82205 Gilching
Key Metrics
Founded Year
2021
Location
Planegg, Germany
Stage
Series C
Total Funding
$680M in 6 rounds
Latest Funding Round
Investors
Ranked
9th among 177 active competitors
Employee Count
507 as on Jul 31, 2026
Investment & Acquisitions
Legal entities associated with The Exploration
The Exploration is associated with 1 legal entity given below:
Legal Entity Name | Date of Incorporation | Revenue | Latest Employee Count | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Exploration Company GmbH CIN: D2601_HRB267885 , Germany, Active | Jul 16, 2021 | - | - |
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The Exploration's funding and investors
The Exploration has raised a total funding of $680M over 6 rounds. Its first funding round was on Jan 2021. Its latest funding round was a Series C round on Sep 08, 2026 for $*****. 7 investors participated in its latest round. The Exploration has 26 institutional investors and 1 angel investor.
Here is the list of recent funding rounds of The Exploration:
Filter this list
Filter this listDate of Funding | Funding Amount | Round Name | Post-Money Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 08, 2026 | 8751827 | Series C | 3201825 | 8681178 | 7090999 | 7489721 |
Nov 18, 2024 | 2879810 | Series B | 1980859 | 1926085 | 3956364 | |
2024 | 6387 | Series A | 5254 | 8846 | 5176 |
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The Exploration's founders and board of directors
Founder? Claim ProfileThe founders of The Exploration are Sebastien Reichstadt, Jon Reijneveld, Helene Huby and Nils Bernhardt. Helene Huby is the CEO of The Exploration.
Here are the details of The Exploration's key team members:
- Sebastien Reichstadt: Co-Founder & Propulsion Senior Technical Advisor of The Exploration. Contact Info: 1 email address
- Jon Reijneveld: Co-Founder & Chief of Engneering of The Exploration. Contact Info: 1 email address
- Helene Huby: Co-Founder & CEO of The Exploration. Contact Info: 1 email address
- Nils Bernhardt: Co-Founder & Chief Digital Officer of The Exploration. Contact Info: 1 email address
The Exploration's Board of Directors
The Exploration's board has 1 active member. Helene Huby is part of team.Here is the list of The Exploration's board of directors:
Name | Type | Representing | Status | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | - | Current | 5y 0m |
View details of The Exploration's Founder profiles and Board Members
The Exploration's employee count trend
The Exploration has 507 employees as of Jul 26. Here is The Exploration's employee count trend over the years:
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The Exploration's Competitors and alternates
Top competitors of The Exploration include SpaceX, Skyroot and Firefly Aerospace. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of The Exploration, ranked by Tracxn score:
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Rank | Company Details | Short Description | Total Funding | Investors | Tracxn Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st |  SpaceX 2002, Hawthorne (United States), Public | Provider of advanced aerospace and space transportation services | $11.9B | 81/100 | |
2nd | Manufacturer of orbital launch vehicles for small satellite deployment missions | $145M | 73/100 | ||
3rd |  Firefly Aerospace 2014, Cedar Park (United States), Public | Provider of small and medium satellite launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles | $589M | 70/100 | |
4th |  Astra 2016, Alameda (United States), Series B | Provider of launch services and electric propulsion systems for spacecraft | $137M | 70/100 | |
5th |  Rocket Lab 2006, Long Beach (United States), Public | Provider of launch services, spacecraft design, manufacturing, satellite components, and software | $288M | 69/100 | |
6th | Manufacturer of orbital launch vehicles for micro and nano satellites | $75.5M | 67/100 | ||
7th | Relativity Space 2015, Inglewood (United States), Series E | Provider of AI-powered 3D printed launch vehicles for small payloads | $1.34B | 65/100 | |
8th |  Stoke 2019, Kent (United States), Series D | Manufacturer of reusable launch vehicles | $1.34B | 65/100 | |
9th |  The Exploration 2021, Planegg (Germany), Series C | Developer of reusable space vehicles for cargo transport to space stations | $680M | 64/100 | |
10th | Developer of reusable medium-lift launch vehicles and related propulsion systems | $28.3M | 61/100 |
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The Exploration's Investments and acquisitions
The Exploration has acquired Thrustworks. The Exploration has not made any investments as of now.Reports related to The Exploration
Here is the latest report on The Exploration's sector:
News related to The Exploration
Filter this listMedia has covered The Exploration for a total of 6 events in the last 1 year, 2 of them have been about company updates.
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European spacecraft company opens Houston lab, plans major US hiringHouston Chronicle•Jul 08, 2026•The Exploration
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Munich-based Hades Mining Secures €5.5 Million Funding In Pre-seed RoundStartup Rise EU•Aug 20, 2025•Com.au, Founders Factory, Visionaries Tomorrow, Hades and 7 others
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Lithium-sulfur battery startup Molyon raises $4.6MTech.eu•Nov 26, 2024•Molyon, IQ Capital, Plural, VSParticle and 1 other
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Goodwin advises investor consortium on Series B financing of The Exploration CompanyRecht•Nov 22, 2024•Goodwin, Plural, Balderton Capital, NGP Capital and 2 others
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