Investment Notes: VXB Aerospace

Investible is excited to have participated in VXB Aerospace’s A$1m Pre-seed round alongside Jelix Ventures, Brindabella and strategic angels.

Led by Alexander Ryan (CEO & Founder), VXB has developed an AI-powered software platform (Zephyr) which allows satellite manufacturers to optimally design electric propulsion hall effect thrusters which can be easily integrated with their existing satellite body designs. Their design software will allow satellite manufacturers to build hall effect thrusters ~5x faster and ~40% cheaper with optimal performance on par with the best in market.

VXB was also recently selected as 1 of 12 global startups to take part in the most recent cohort of the Techstars Space Accelerator, which runs in partnership with the US Space Force and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Prior participants of the accelerator (e.g. Orbit Fab, Morpheus Space, Pixxel) have gone on to generate significant revenue, partnerships and raise growth-stage funding from reputable US deep tech investors.

Strong market tailwinds given the forecasted growth in the number of satellites to be launched into space

The global space market is rapidly growing, with industry experts forecasting a ~20x increase in active satellites to 100,000+ (or ~8 satellites launched per day) by 2030, equating to a ~US$1 trillion global addressable market. In addition to this growth, satellite designs are becoming increasingly more complex, expensive and are being delivered on faster timelines with less experienced teams (i.e. requiring more efficient and novel methods of mass manufacturing at scale).

With the influx of new satellites launching into orbit, there is now a greater need for smaller satellite manufacturers (who lack the budget and capabilities of larger manufacturers) to use AI simulation software to help them optimally design and build hall effect thrusters, of which most satellites are primarily designed around / dependent on.

VXB’s novel and differentiated AI-powered software design platform is well positioned to capitalise on the strong tailwinds of the global space industry.

Forecast number of new satellites launched into space by year (Source: Euroconsult)

Novel technology which could expedite the mass production of small satellites

VXB’s design software (Zephyr) leverages proprietary AI algorithms to simulate the optimal design parameters for hall effect thrusters to be compatible with a customer’s overarching hardware (i.e. bespoke solution). This approach is novel in the industry, given small satellite manufacturers typically use designs licensed from research labs and NASA that were not developed with mass production in mind (i.e. they are largely working with high overhead costs to meet demand expectations).

Aerospace industry experts validated this hypothesis by noting that if Zephyr was accurately producing optimal design results, then it would be very appealing for small satellite manufacturers, given most are currently focused on improving hall effect thruster manufacturing efficiency (for mass production), and are increasingly cost conscious while wanting to maintain performance.

VXB has also managed to develop core IP which enables the hall effect thrusters to be compatible with newer propellants (i.e. argon gas) which is significantly cheaper and more abundant than incumbent propellants (e.g. xenon and krypton).

Although it is still early days for VXB, the company has managed to land 6 LOIs potentially worth A$2m+ from reputable Australian space organisations and US-based space startups.

The VXB team hard at work in their lab at Botany, New South Wales

Ambitious and talented founder with space and engineering experience

Alex (CEO & Founder) has worked in the space industry his entire career since 2018, where he holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sydney and helped develop a novel helicon plasma propulsion system using AI-powered software for small satellites (this was the genesis of him wanting to start VXB).

He was also Head Aerospace Engineer at Industrial Sciences Group (ISG), where he led the development of a best-in-class Decision Support System (DSS) for satellite collision detection for the CARA (Conjunction Assessment and Risk Analysis) group at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Centre.

Alex has also hired a strong founding team of 7 with technical engineering and chemistry experience around him and will look to add more talented software engineers to bolster the team.

We are thrilled to be backing Alex and the VXB team as they look to continue building the Zephyr platform and capitalise on the great momentum from the Techstars Space Accelerator.

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