Blackbird Ventures
Assembly Line
Fleet Space Closes USD$100M Series D with USD$525M Valuation
Fleet Space Technologies (Fleet Space), Australia’s leading space exploration company, announced the closing of a USD$100M Series D funding round, led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and joined by existing investors Blackbird Ventures, Hostplus, Horizons Ventures, Artesian Venture Partners, and Alumni Ventures. The new investment will be used to expand the capabilities of Fleet Space’s global end-to-end exploration platform, ExoSphere, to accelerate the discovery of critical minerals needed for Earth’s clean energy future.
“The ability to meet the rapidly increasing demand for critical minerals presents a significant challenge to achieving global net-zero targets,” said Rick Prostko, Senior Managing Director, Teachers’ Venture Growth. “Current mineral exploration methods are inadequate for efficient discovery and production. Fleet Space addresses this with advanced 3D subsurface imaging and AI analysis tools, which have the potential to sustainably transform the industry. We are proud to support the multidisciplinary team at Fleet Space in their efforts to accelerate the global energy transition.”
Australian lidar firm Baraja raises $31 million in funding
Australian lidar firm Baraja said on Wednesday it had raised $31 million in a new funding round from investors including Blackbird Ventures and Hitachi Construction Machinery.
Baraja, which did not disclose its valuation after the round, said the funds will be used for hiring and to accelerate the development of its lidar technology.