Gilmour seeks $40m for lift-off

This hi-tech start-up says outer space should represent a foreign export opportunity for Australia.

QBM - Brothers Adam and James Gilmour for Good Company section of QBM. Pic Mark Cranitch.

Homegrown rocket outfit Gilmour Space has announced its first international deal, as the company eyes a $40m funding round to cement its place as one of Australia‘s leading space start-ups.

Gilmour, co-founded by former banker Adam Gilmour and backed by Canva investors Blackbird Ventures, has signed a deal with US-based outfit Momentus, which is about to become a billion-dollar company.

Mr Gilmour told The Australian that the deal, for launch and orbital transport services, was proof that Australia was ready for significant export deals, rather than merely supporting a domestic space industry.

“There is a belief in the Australian community we can‘t be global players in space,” he said. ”The government and space agency commissioned a report 18 to 24 months ago that specifically omitted any opportunities for foreign sales to launch from Australia, and they only talked about the domestic market. And we have a massive issue with that, because the bulk of our customers, and all our letters of intent, are with foreign satellite companies.

Then-Queensland opposition leader Deb Frecklington is presented with a plaque from Gilmour Space CEO Adam Gilmore which reads Let’s Get Queensland working again. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

“So this is basically the stake in the sand to say hey, this is not a domestic opportunity, this is a foreign export opportunity.”

The federal government is aiming to triple the size of Australia‘s space sector, declaring the industry would create $12bn in economic benefit and up to 20,000 new jobs.

Gilmour is currently looking to raise a Series C round of between $30m and $40m. The Australian reported the company‘s previous $19 million funding round, as it moves to debut its Eris launch vehicle by 2022. The company has another heavier rocket planned for 2025. Mr Gilmour said the Eris family of launch vehicles will launch from Australian and international launch sites, offering access to low inclination as well as Sun-synchronous orbits.

“There‘s a rocket company called Relativity that just raised $US500m at a $US2.3bn valuation, they haven’t launched a rocket to space and we think their tech development level is about the same as ours,” Mr Gilmour said. ”We want to raise at least $30m, and we’re looking at a $400m valuation.”

The executive added that the government was ‘finally getting serious’ about space, following the establishment of the Australian Space Agency, to be headed by Virgin Galactic executive Enrico Palermo.

“I‘m on calls everyother day with somebody from the government, it is just amazing,” he said. ”There has been a real sea change. The Prime Minister himself is telling the Defence Force and the Space Agency that he wants more sovereign space capabilities, and now the money just needs to start flowing.

“The next 12 to 24 months are going to be fantastic for our space industry.”