Space Robotics Startup Gitai Raises $17.1M in Series B

Space robotics startup based out of Japan, Gitai, has announced that it has raised $17.1 million (1.8 billion Yen) in its Series B. The company in this funding round received investments from The Space Frontier Fund (SPARX Innovation for the Future Co., Ltd.), DCI Venture Growth Fund (Daiwa Corporate Investment Co.,Ltd.), The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited, and EP-GB L.P. (EPSON X Investment Corporation / Global Brain Corporation).

The company, in its press release, has said that the funding will be used for accelerating and expanding its business and technology development. More specifically, the funding will be utilized for three purposes:

– Development and personnel costs to establish the compatibility with space environment

 – Costs for on-orbit extra-vehicular technology demonstration scheduled for 2023

 – Personnel expenses for entering the U.S. market

“We are proceeding well in the Japanese market, and we’ve already contracted missions from Japanese companies, but we haven’t expanded to the U.S. market yet,” said Gitai founder and CEO ShoNakanose, in an interview with TechCrunch. “So we would like to get missions from U.S. commercial space companies, as a subcontractor first.”

In the long run, the space robotics startup is looking to provide a cost-efficient and safe way of working in the space.