Space company Axiom raises $350 million backed by Trump Jr.’s firm
Axiom Space and KBR have successfully completed the first unmanned thermal vacuum test of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), designed to support astronauts during the Artemis III mission, the first manned lunar landing in more than 50 years.
Courtesy of KBR and Axiom Space
AxiomThe space firm that provides suits for NASA’s moon missions and is building a successor to the International Space Station has raised $350 million, the company said Thursday.
Both Qatar sovereign wealth fund and Type One Ventures led the round with participation from Hungary-based IT company 4iG And 1789 CapitalWhere Donald Trump Jr. is a partner.
Axiom, valued at more than $2.5 billion according to Pitchbook, plans to use the funding for spacesuit capabilities and modules one and two for the commercial space station, CEO Jonathan Cirtain told reporters Thursday.
“This financing reflects continued strong institutional and strategic investor belief in Axiom Space’s leadership position,” Cirtain said. took the helm The company in October.
Axiom’s latest funding round comes at a critical time for space technology. As excitement grew about SpaceX’s massive public offering towards the end of this year, more investors flocked to the sector.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reindustrialize US defense systems and send US astronauts back to the moon for the first time in 50 years have also increased excitement.
Over the years, Axiom has worked closely with SpaceX to send both private and government astronauts to the ISS. 2030 retirement.
Last month, NASA gave the Houston-based company fifth special astronaut missionIt is planned to be released in January 2027.
NASA is emerging from a complex period of transition following Trump’s election victory in 2024, during which the agency experienced a shakeup in leadership and faces dramatic workforce cuts.
Elon Musk ally Jared Isaacman was finally appointed to head the agency in December, more than a year after the president first nominated him for the job. The president had previously rescinded his nomination of Isaacman due to concerns about his political connections.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Sean Duffy temporarily oversaw NASA. Duffy faced harsh criticism from Musk in October after the transportation chief told news outlets that SpaceX was falling behind on U.S. moon missions and that NASA would consider other contracts.
NASA’s Artemis missions have also encountered some obstacles. Agency in 2024 pushed back launches for 2026 and 2027 moon trips due to safety and technical concerns. One of these problems involved problems with spacesuits.
Cirtain said Thursday that the company is “currently on schedule” to deliver spacesuits to NASA by 2027.
“We are taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure development is completed on time,” he said.
Axiom did not disclose the valuation at which it raised the funds.
