The Exploration Company has closed a $450 million Series C, the largest round at that stage for a European space startup, valuing the Munich-headquartered company at approximately $2 billion. The financing positions the Franco-German firm as the first privately funded European company with both the capital and a signed mission queue to compete for orbital cargo services as the International Space Station approaches retirement around 2030. The round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico and the EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund, with Balderton, Plural, Cherry and Red River West also participating. Bessemer partner Alex Ferrara will join TEC’s board. The financing brings TEC’s total capitalization since its 2021 founding to roughly $680 million. TEC will use the proceeds to develop Nyx Earth, a reusable capsule designed to carry up to 4,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit and return up to 3,000 kilograms to Earth, and Storm, a reusable liquid-oxygen and biomethane engine targeting up to 180 tonnes-force of thrust. The first full-scale Nyx mission is scheduled to dock with the ISS and attempt a splashdown in November 2028, while Storm testing is expected to begin before the end of 2026. TEC has more than $2 billion in contracts and commitments, including agreements involving ESA, Axiom Space, Starlab and Vast, although the company has not yet completed an end-to-end mission through capsule recovery. Its 2025 Mission Possible flight survived reentry but lost contact before parachute deployment. Hélène Huby, TEC’s co-founder and CEO, is opening Paris’s inaugural International Space Summit as one of two Special Envoys named by French President Emmanuel Macron for France’s 2026 G7 presidency.