WASHINGTON — Axiom Space announced Aug. 21 that it has raised $350 million from Saudi Arabian and South Korean investors to continue development of a commercial space station.
The Houston-based company said it raised a Series C round that was led by Aljazira Capital and Boryung Co., Ltd., along with what it called “an array of diverse backers” that include venture capital funds and strategic brand partners.
“We are honored to team with investors like Aljazira Capital, Boryung and others, who are committed to realizing the Axiom Space vision,” said Michael Suffredini, president and chief executive of Axiom Space, in statement. “Together, we are working to serve innovators in medicine, materials science and on-orbit infrastructure who represent billions of dollars in demand over the coming decade.”
Aljazira Capital is a Saudi investment company owned by Bank Al Jazira. Boryung is a South Korean pharmaceutical company that disclosed in December 2022 that it had invested $50 million into Axiom. In the statement announcing the new round, Axiom described Boryung as a “multi-round lead investor” in the company.
“In line with the Saudi Vision 2030’s transformative approach, we acknowledge the need for technology toward the advancement of human life. To that end, we are excited to support Axiom Space along its journey of building for beyond,” said Naif AlMesned, chief executive and managing director of Aljazira Capital, in a statement.
“We recognize the depth of human spaceflight knowledge and the level of space station construction and management experience at Axiom Space, as well as the sophistication of the company’s sales and business strategy,” Jay Kim, chairman of Boryung, said in the same statement.
Axiom did not disclose specific plans for the new funding, but the company is actively working on a series of commercial modules it plans to start installing on the International Space Station by 2026. Those modules will later separate from the ISS and form the core of a standalone space station.
As a precursor to those modules, Axiom has been flying a series of private astronaut missions to the ISS on SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. The second of those missions, Ax-2, went to the ISS in May and included two Saudi astronauts. The next, Ax-3, is planned for early 2024.
Axiom, along with Collins Aerospace, won Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services contracts from NASA in 2022 to develop spacesuits for use on the ISS and Artemis missions. Axiom has received $370 million in funded task orders for its contract to date, which the company said in its statement has a maximum value of $1.26 billion.
Overall, Axiom said it has more than $2.2 billion in customer contracts but did not include details about those contracts beyond its NASA spacesuit award. The Series C round brings the total raised by Axiom to date to more than $505 million.
