Dcubed Raises $4.8 Million to Expand In-Space Manufacturing

German startup Dcubed raised 4.4 million euros ($4.8 million) in a Series A funding round.

With the investment, announced Aug. 5, Dcubed will expand production, demonstrate in-space manufacturing and open a U.S. office, Thomas Sinn, DCubed CEO and founder, told SpaceNews at the Small Satellite Conference here.

Dcubed’s Westminster, Colorado, office will serve as a sales and distribution hub to support U.S. customers, who make up more than half of the firm’s client base, said Andria Fortier, Dcubed U.S. managing director.

To demonstrate in-space manufacturing, Dcubed is buying SpaceX rideshare launches. “We want to launch at least twice next year with an in-space demonstrator and at least once in 2026,” Sinn said.

For the first mission, Dcubed is working with space mobility provider Exotrail. Dcubed’s payload will include Solestial’s thin, flexible silicon solar blanket. In orbit, Dcubed will unfurl the solar blanket and manufacture support structures for a 100-watt solar array.

Expansion Aerospace Ventures and BayBG Venture Capital led Dcubed’s Series A investment round. Also participating were HTGF, Aurelia Foundry, Ventis, Rymdkapital and Decisive Point Europe.

“Together with our global investors, we now have a solid foundation to boost future growth in the booming space market,” Sinn said in a statement.

The funding also will allow Dcubed to quadruple production of actuators for space applications.

Ted Elvhage, Expansion Ventures general manager, said in a statement that his fund is backing Dcubed because it combines “a space-proven product in the rising satellite business with a leading position in the future market of in-space manufacturing.”

Dcubed is BayBG’s first NewSpace equity investment. “Our decision reflects the crucial role that space technologies play in driving all sectors on Earth – from connectivity and mobility to security and sovereignty,” Alois Ganter, BayBG investment manager, said in a statement.

Aurelia Foundry, meanwhile, is backing Dcubed because “NewSpace is among the key enablers for solving critical challenges on Earth,” general partner Ariel Ekblaw said in a statement. “The U.S. certainly provides the most flourishing ecosystems and is also one of the most competitive. With its already strong U.S. business – having delivered products for a who’s who of aerospace customers – Dcubed has proven to be a rapid innovator and trusted supplier with immense opportunity to scale.”