Australian space exploration company Fleet Space Technologies recently closed a $150 million Series D funding round led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG).
TVG is the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and was joined by existing investors Blackbird Ventures, Hostplus, Horizons Ventures, Artesian Venture Partners, and Alumni Ventures.
The new investment will be used to expand the capabilities of Fleet Space’s global end-to-end exploration platform ExoSphere to accelerate the discovery of critical minerals needed for Earth’s clean energy future.
TVG Senior Managing Director Rick Prostko says the ability to meet the rapidly increasing demand for critical minerals presents a significant challenge to achieving global net-zero targets.
“Current mineral exploration methods are inadequate for efficient discovery and production. Fleet Space addresses this with advanced 3D subsurface imaging and AI analysis tools, which have the potential to sustainably transform the industry. We are proud to support the multidisciplinary team at Fleet Space in their efforts to accelerate the global energy transition,” says Prostko.
Closing of the Series D funding comes more than 18 months after Fleet Space completed its heavily oversubscribed $50 million Series C fundraising round, which was led by Australasian venture capital firm Blackbird, as reported by Mining.com.au.
At the time of raising the May 2023 Series C round, Fleet Space’s valuation had then doubled to $350 million, as reported.
Commenting on the Series D round, Niki Scevak, Partner at Blackbird, says the VC firm is proud to continue its investment in Fleet Space, building on many years of history.
“Quite simply, the discovery of critical minerals must exponentially increase if we are to electrify our society by 2050 and breakthroughs, like ExoSphere, are needed to make it happen,” says Scevak.
Fleet Space CFO and Chief Investment Officer Federico Tata Nardini says the Series D funding is a testament to strong investor confidence, and sustained innovation in core technologies needed to address dual challenges of climate change and mineral exploration.
“It’s a signal that in a period of turbulent macroeconomic conditions, the shared commitment to build technologies needed for Earth’s clean energy future combined with solid business execution can attract the right partners,” she says.
In October, Fleet Space locked in an expanded partnership with Kincora Copper (ASX:KCC), in which the space exploration company also agreed to a strategic investment as part of a $1.27 million capital raising.
Fleet Space agreed to undertake multiphysics surveys at the Wongarbon project to identify and refine targets, and has the right to earn a 20% stake by drilling at least 2,000m.
A decision on whether to drill must be made by Fleet Space within six months of the completion of the multiphysics surveys. Should Fleet Space decide to go ahead, a joint venture will be formed.
Also in October, mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) enlisted the services of Fleet Space to advance exploration at its Rincon Lithium Project in Argentina.
Using Fleet Space’s ExoSphere technology, Rio Tinto will develop 3D subsurface maps of the reservoir, basement depth, and brine influencing structures across the project’s salt flat and nearby subvolcanic structures.
ExoSphere’s end-to-end exploration solution enables real-time 3D ambient noise tomography data acquisition and processing by Fleet Space’s satellite network to deliver actionable 3D subsurface insights in days with near-zero environmental impact.
Astute Metals (ASX:ASE) and Fleet Space Technologies in August began a collaborative ANT geophysical survey on the Ranken tenements, within the Georgina Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) Project in the Northern Territory.
Fleet Space is conducting a two-stage ANT survey aimed at characterising the thickness of cover and exploring for seismic velocity anomalies in sub-cropping basement rocks.
Another major to work with Fleet Space is Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD). In July, the Australian space exploration company began rolling out its ExoSphere technology to advance copper exploration at Barrick’s Reko Diq project in Pakistan.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Kincora & Fleet Space
