Singapore-based Qosmosys has closed an astonishing $100 million seed round to develop its lunar lander tech.
The company did not disclose its investors, nor did a Qosmosys spokesperson respond to TechCrunch’s email. In a press release published to its website, the startup simply said that it practices a “unique and protective funding model.”
“The structure welcomes a limited consortium of investors, safeguarding all stakeholder interests in anticipation of a planned IPO by 2028 at the latest,” the release says.
The company aims to send its ZeusX spacecraft to the moon in just four years, with a second mission in 2029. The spacecraft will be composed of three modules: a service module, a moon lander and a “lunar integrated bulk extraction rover,” which will extract lunar resources. That helps account for the spacecraft’s formidable size: 8 meters in height and 4.2 meters in diameter, which is larger than its peer landers such as Firefly’s Blue Ghost, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C and Astrobotic’s Peregrine.
Not much is known about the first mission, though Qosmosys did say back in February that it had partnered with Airbus Defence and Space for technical design and engineering services for the ZeusX concept. If all goes to plan, the spacecraft will be capable of transporting 500 kilograms to lunar orbit and 800 kilograms to the surface.
The startup, headed by aerospace executive François Dubrulle, is based in Singapore but has two affiliate companies in Houston, Texas and Toulouse, France. Qosmosys says that lunar mining, particularly of essential minerals like Helium-3, is a core part of its business model.