Satellite manufacturer MinoSpace Technology has secured 1 billion yuan ($137.7 million) in a Series C1 financing round led by the Wuxi Economic Development Zone Shangxian Industry Investment Fund, which is managed by SIP Oriza PE Fund Management.
SIP Oriza PE Fund Management is the private equity investment arm of Suzhou Oriza Holdings, a state-owned investment firm in eastern China’s Suzhou City.
Liangxi Technology and Innovation Industry Fund of Funds, an industry guidance fund dedicated to Wuxi City’s Liangxi district, participated in the round while existing shareholder Qingdao Huizhu Anfulan also re-upped, according to a company release on Monday.
The proceeds will help streamline MinoSpace’s satellite R&D and production operations, per the release.
Founded in 2017, the Beijing-headquartered firm engages in the R&D and manufacturing of satellite constellation systems and satellites and provides satellite in-orbit delivery services.
Previously, the firm snapped up nearly 400 million yuan ($59.6 million) in its Series B and B+ rounds in January 2023 to scale its production capacity and client base.
It roped in Guokai National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrade Fund, the over-50-billion-yuan ($7.5 billion) fund backed by the Ministry of Finance in China; as well as Yuexiu Industrial Investment Fund Management, Donghao Lansheng, and Haitong Securities’ Haitong Innovation Investment, among others.
The deal marked the second megadeal — defined as transactions worth at least $100 million — in the Chinese space tech sector in June. Chinese commercial launch company Space Pioneer was the first such deal that raked in over 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) in a Series C+ round of financing in early June.