A seventh class of 15 laureates

SpaceFounders, the accelerator programme created by CNES in partnership with Bundeswehr University Munich (UniBw) and the Italian space agency ASI, today unveiled its latest class of 15 start-up laureates at ILA Berlin, Germany’s largest air and space show:

• ArcSpace: electron-beam technologies for in-orbit docking without standardized interfaces
• CORAC: secure satellite communications solutions supporting quantum communication
• CUS GNC: autonomous guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software powered by machine learning to revolutionize satellite control
• Fluid Wire Robotics: new-generation highly reliable and efficient robotic arms
• Gama: de-orbiting systems to ensure regulatory compliance for satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) using a fully autonomous drag sail
• Groundcom: global network of ground stations offering connectivity services
• Horizon Microtechnologies: radiofrequency components optimized for satellite applications, employing polymer-based 3D microfabrication techniques
• Intella: mission intelligence software that helps satellite operations scale by preserving situational awareness and reducing operational risk
• Nautilus: autonomous GNC subsystems for guidance and navigation, collision avoidance and planetary landing
• Orbint: signals intelligence for operators through a comprehensive solution spanning RF receivers to the analyst interface
• Paradigma Technologies: space telecommunications products, notably high-throughput, software-defined K_a-band transponders for small satellites
• SatEnlight: innovative optical communication solutions
• Spacemanic: modular technologies for cubesats from 1U to 16U
• Stratobotic: stratospheric platform for Earth observation and payload carrier services
• Voltify: highly integrated, compact and powerful energy storage devices (micro-capacitors and micro-batteries)

More than the vibrancy of Italy’s ecosystem, the vibrancy of european ecosystem

Three French, two German, three Czech, one Slovenian and six Italian start-ups thus compose the seventh class of SpaceFounders laureates. More than a third of them are from Italy, a clear result of the momentum imparted by the Italian space agency ASI’s recent entry into the programme’s governance structure. The make-up of this latest cohort reflects not only the vibrancy of Italy’s ecosystem, but also that of the European ecosystem given the especially high number of quality candidates this year.

A huge programme to come

The accelerator programme will run from September to December 2026, with three intensive sessions in Munich (7-9 September), Toulouse (19-21 October) and Turin (1-3 December). These sessions will be complemented by mentoring from industry experts to help the 15 start-ups refine their technological, commercial and industrial strategy. At the end of the programme, they will join a community of SpaceFounders alumni that include EnduroSat, Aldoria, Univity and Marble Imaging to name a few.

The accelerator programme offers unique access to Europe’s leading space players through partnerships with topflight institutions and manufacturers such as ESA, DLR, Airbus and Safran. During the course of the programme, the start-ups will be given tours of industrial facilities and get to meet top people in the space sector and key investors. Finally, they will be given the opportunity to pitch their projects at demo days, with a view to boosting their development and scaling up their business.

About SpaceFounders

SpaceFounders is a European accelerator programme for space start-ups dedicated to helping them become industry leaders and structuring Europe’s space ecosystem. Initiated in 2021 by CNES and Bundeswehr University Munich (UniBw), then joined in 2023 by the Italian space agency ASI, it is supported by prestigious European space institutions such as the European Space Agency (ESA), German space agency DLR and the European Innovation Council (EIC), and by top-tier institutional and industrial partners like Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Defence & Space, Telespazio, Beyond Gravity and Safran. SpaceFounders France also invests in French start-ups that have achieved a proven track record since the start of the accelerator programme, to accelerate their international development.