European Space Technologies Landscape (Jolt Capital)

Summary

• Jolt.Ninja AI identified a total of 5,398 companies in the SpaceTech dealflow perimeter across six primary technology domains.p.6
• Over the last 10 years, more than €41b has been invested in SpaceTech technologies through approximately +4k VC/Growth equity deals.p.10
• Space data companies dominate European early-stage financing, attracting 56% of capital across 55% of VC deals.p.11
• European SpaceTech startups require [4-5] years to secure €20 million in venture funding, compared to [2-3] years for Noram peers.p.12
• The Hidden Universe comprises over +3,500 SpaceTech companies that have not raised VC/PE funding since 2010, with 35% located in Europe.p.13
• SpaceTech companies hold roughly 13,3k active patents, with European firms originating 30% of total active filings.p.15
• SpaceTech exits average over +50 transactions annually over a 10-year period, with European targets accounting for 33% of deal volume.p.20

Key insights

1. Investment opportunities in SpaceTech are increasingly global with Europe and Asia capturing 39% of the money raised for +50% of the deals in 2023.p.10
2. Space data companies are over-represented in VC rounds, attracting 56% of the capital in 55% of deals, while representing 32% of growth deals.p.11
3. On average, it took [4-5] years for a European SpaceTech company to reach €20 million in VC/PE funding, while it took only [2-3] years in Noram.p.12
4. Going forward, there is still a lot of potential to boost SpaceTech companies through more VC/PE financing, as 60% of identified SpaceTech companies have not yet received VC/PE funding.p.13
5. While European companies account for 35% of the number of deals, they also develop a high proportion of intellectual property, filling 30% of active patents.p.15
6. European companies represent a decreasing proportion of the companies across companies with IP and different patent quality quartiles.p.17
7. While most of the intellectual property is concentrated in Noram, the share of patents filed each year, as well as the proportion of those in the top quartile, has declined over time.p.18
8. European companies account for 33% of the number of exit rounds per year and 30% of the money raised at exit, based on a 10-year average.p.20