EQT announced that EQT X has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Exolaunch, a global leader in mission management, satellite integration, and deployment technologies, from founder Dmitriy Sternharz. Headquartered in Germany, Exolaunch enables access to space for global satellite operators. The Company offers industry-leading deployment hardware, facilitating the integration and aggregation of a wide range of satellites with different launch vehicles, deploying payloads into their target orbits.
Expertise in related services, like launch program planning, end-to-end mission management, launch capacity procurement, satellite integration, testing, logistics and orbital deployment enable Exolaunch to act as “one-stop-shop” for customers, supporting launches with different vehicles from launch sites globally. Exolaunch has successfully deployed over 790 satellites across 47 missions for over 200 commercial and government customers from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Company executes launch and deployment contracts with a wide range of traditional and new promising launch vehicles.
In particular, Exolaunch has maintained a strategic relationship with SpaceX since 2020, having participated in every Falcon 9 Transporter and Bandwagon rideshare mission since the programs' inception. In addition, Exolaunch recently started procuring its own dedicated launches, with the first secured Falcon 9 missions from SpaceX, Exo-1 and Exo-2, scheduled for 2027 and 2028. These types of missions will substantially increase the Company's launch capacity and reinforce its position as a leading provider of satellite launch and deployment services in the rapidly expanding global space economy. EQT will support Exolaunch in scaling its global operations and investing into the development of new satellite launch and deployment technologies. It will also help drive the expansion into additional services across the satellite mission lifecycle and resources to expand the dedicated and rideshare launch offerings both with existing partners and newly emerging launch providers.
Nils Ketter, Partner and Head of Industrial Technology in the EQT Private Equity advisory team, said: "EQT is excited to partner with Exolaunch, which marks EQT Private Equity's first investment in the space sector. Built by a visionary founder together with a world-class team, Exolaunch developed mission-critical deployment technologies and built a full end-to-end service offering around it. The Company thereby solves critical pain points for satellite customers and launch vehicle providers alike. Its deep technological expertise and proven track record makes Exolaunch one of the most trusted names in the launch ecosystem. We look forward to supporting Exolaunch's management working with customers and partners to expand access to space. We see great potential for rapidly developing use cases, including for connectivity, Earth observation and orbital compute.”
Dmitriy Sternharz, Founder and President of Exolaunch, said: “The foundations of Exolaunch were laid during my time at the Aerospace Department of the Technical University of Berlin, inspired by the lectures and guidance of my role models Prof. Udo Renner and Prof. Klaus Brieß. What began as a passion for space has grown into a leading global provider of satellite launch and deployment services, helping customers around the world access orbit and deploy constellations with reliability and precision. I am extremely proud of the execution excellence consistently demonstrated by the Exolaunch team, as well as the reputation we have built together over the years. As the space economy enters a period of extraordinary growth, Exolaunch is strongly positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand for launch access, orbital infrastructure and space-enabled services. I warmly welcome EQT as the new owner of Exolaunch, as EQT's global network, operational expertise and long-term ownership mindset make them ideally placed to lead the Company into its next phase of growth.”
Dr. Robert Sproles, Chief Executive Officer of Exolaunch, said: "At Exolaunch, we transform the complex task of launch campaigns into seamless and affordable experiences for our customers. We help to enable the visions of some of the world's most ambitious companies, research institutions, governments and space agencies. With EQT's backing, we're moving from being the trusted name in deployment to building the backbone of the entire launch ecosystem – expanding our technology, our services and our global reach to become the definitive partner for access to space.”
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