Dawn Aerospace rockets to $335m valuation after latest raise

9:03 am today

Dawn Aerospace chief executive Stefan Powell with the Mk-II Aurora spaceplane.

Photo: Supplied/Tony Stewart

Spaceplane company Dawn Aerospace has raised US$25 million (NZ$43m) in its latest funding round, rocketing the company to a US$195m (NZ$335m) valuation.

The New Zealand-Dutch company with roots in Christchurch, said the Series B funding round was led by US-based Balerion Space Ventures.

It was also backed by various global investors, including Mana Ventures, ANA Future Frontier Fund and NZVC.

Dawn said the funding would directly finance the company's global rollout, and would scale commercial and operational teams in the US and Europe.

"As a cash-flow positive company, raising capital is about accelerating the growth of programmes we have extremely high conviction in, and that our customers are desperate for," Dawn Aerospace chief executive Stefan Powell said.

Dawn said commercially, revenue had grown from less than $3m in 2022 to more than $15m, with growth of more than 90 percent in the last 12 months.

"We've built a highly capital-efficient company by focusing on delivering real hardware and generating revenue, rather than burning capital on hype," said Powell.

The latest raise followed major progress since its Series A funding round in 2022.

Dawn said since then, it had grown its flagship propulsion product from 33 thrusters in space to over 200.

It had also flown supersonic with its Aurora suborbital spaceplane, making it the first privately developed aircraft to fly supersonic since the Concorde. Dawn said it was one of only two supersonic unmanned aerial vehicles operating globally today.

Dawn said in the next 12 months, Aurora was expected to become the first vehicle to fly above the Karman line -- the internationally accepted boundary separating Earth's atmosphere and outer space -- twice in a day.

The company expected to deliver the capability to the US state of Oklahoma in 2027, under a US$17m (NZ$29.1m) deal signed last year.

In 2028, Dawn planned to demonstrate in-orbit refuelling of its satellite propulsion systems, a crucial step in its broader plans for reusable in-space logistics.

Dawn said its momentum coincided with a global surge in aerospace and defence spending, with the company sensing opportunity.

"Dawn is doing what few in this category have: building real commercial revenue and a spiral path from in-space propulsion and refuelling, to a hypersonic spaceplane, to aircraft-like payload delivery to orbit, all with extraordinary capital efficiency," said Dan Wallman, partner at Balerion Space Ventures.

Wallman was also an incoming board member at Dawn.

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