PAVE Space raises $40M to cut satellite deployment from months to hours

Photo courtesy of PAVE Space

PAVE Space has raised $40 million in seed funding to develop a new generation of spacecraft designed to move satellites rapidly between orbits. The round was led by Visionaries Club and Creandum, with participation from Lombard Odier Investment Managers, Atlantic Labs, Sistafund, b2venture, ACE Investment Partners, Ilavaska Vuillermoz Capital, Pareto & Motier Ventures. It ranks among the largest seed financings in the global space sector in recent years.

The company is building a family of orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) capable of transporting satellites from low Earth orbit (LEO) to higher-energy destinations such as geostationary orbit (GEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), or lunar trajectories in less than 24 hours — addressing one of the emerging logistical bottlenecks of the rapidly expanding space economy.

Today, most rockets deliver satellites only to low Earth orbit. From there, spacecraft must rely on their own electric propulsion systems to slowly climb to their operational orbit, a process that can take six to twelve months and delay revenue-generating services while tying up capital.

With more than 12,000 satellites already in orbit and thousands more launched each year, demand for rapid and flexible mobility between orbits is growing quickly. PAVE Space is building the infrastructure to enable it.

Solving the logistics bottleneck in orbit

PAVE Space is developing orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) capable of moving satellites from low Earth orbit to their final operational orbit in less than 24 hours.

Its flagship system, a heavy kickstage vehicle, delivers them to higher-energy orbits quickly and reliably. By replacing the traditional electric orbit-raising process, the platform significantly reduces mission timelines while lowering overall mission cost.

PAVE's architecture uses storable bipropellants rather than cryogenic fuels, eliminating boil-off constraints inside the fairing, and supporting long-duration missions that cryogenic systems cannot serve.

For satellite operators, the impact is substantial. Services can be brought online months earlier, avoiding the inefficiencies and opportunity costs associated with slow orbital transfer.

Beyond commercial missions, this capability is also becoming increasingly critical for defence and institutional customers, who require rapid and flexible mobility in orbit.

Alongside the heavy kickstage system, PAVE is also developing a smaller mobile platform designed for responsive missions and dual-use applications, enabling satellites and payloads to move rapidly between orbital positions.

A strategic capability for Europe’s sovereign space ambitions

PAVE’s development comes at a time when Europe is placing renewed emphasis on sovereign capabilities in space and beyond.

Governments across the continent are investing heavily in space and defence programmes, with more than €55 billion allocated to European defence spending in the coming years and major initiatives underway to strengthen Europe’s autonomy in critical infrastructure sectors.

Within this context, orbital mobility is emerging as a strategic capability.

Today, Europe lacks an independent logistics provider capable of enabling mobility and responsiveness in and between orbits. PAVE aims to fill that gap.

The company’s logistics vehicles are designed to operate with multiple launch providers - including Falcon 9, Ariane 6 and the Japanese MHI - providing European institutions and satellite operators with a flexible and launcher-agnostic mobility layer in space.

This approach allows satellite manufacturers, telecom operators and defence organisations to reach strategic orbits faster and more efficiently while reducing dependency on foreign systems.

A new generation of European space engineers

PAVE Space was founded in Lausanne in 2024 by Julie Böhning (CEO) and Jérémy Marciacq (CTO), who have been building rockets together since their student years at EPFL.

The pair previously co-founded the Gruyère Space Program, the first European reusable rocket initiative. With just CHF 250,000 in sponsorship funding, the team designed and built a reusable rocket demonstrator that completed 53 test flights in 2024.

That experience shaped PAVE’s engineering philosophy: maintain full control over the vehicle stack and iterate rapidly through real-world testing.

Today the company develops propulsion systems, avionics, control algorithms and structural design internally, enabling rapid engineering cycles and tight integration across the platform.

During the past four months, the team has designed, built and tested the propulsion system for its first mobile platform. The company also recently opened a dedicated propulsion test facility — a former Alpine power plant converted into a rocket engine test site — where PAVE will conduct its first rocket engine firings later this year. In parallel, the company is preparing its first in-space demonstration mission scheduled for October.

Commercial demand is also building rapidly. The company has already secured 8 reservation agreements with satellite operators and manufacturers, and is engaged in discussions with several major industry players.

Building the logistics backbone of the space economy

“The space economy is entering an industrial phase where logistics will become as critical in orbit as they are on Earth,” said Julie Böhning, CEO and Co-Founder of PAVE Space.

“Our ambition is to build the infrastructure that allows industries to move, operate and scale beyond Earth - while ensuring Europe retains sovereign capabilities in this next strategic domain.”

Investors see PAVE as a key infrastructure player emerging at the intersection of several powerful trends: sovereign European space access, accelerating defence investment and the rise of a global space logistics economy.

“Getting to space has become routine, but moving once you’re there has not.” said Marton Sarkadi Nagy, Partner at Visionaries Club. “PAVE is building the logistics platform that will enable the next generation of commercial and industrial missions in space.”

Scaling Europe’s orbital logistics infrastructure

The new funding will allow PAVE Space to:

• accelerate development of its heavy kickstage logistics platform

• execute its first in-orbit technical demonstration mission

• expand its engineering and operations teams

• prepare its first commercial orbital logistics missions

• conduct the first ground firing of its propulsion system

With a rapidly growing team of engineers and space industry specialists, PAVE is now hiring across propulsion, avionics, mission design and business roles.

The company’s long-term ambition is to become the logistics backbone of the global space economy, enabling spacecraft and industries to operate across Earth orbit, lunar missions and beyond.