XNANU raises US$740m to industrialise planetary robotics

XNANU has closed a US$740 million Series C to move planetary robotics from bespoke prototypes to serial manufacturing. The capital funds a second assembly line in Bremen, an expanded analogue test range in the Atacama, and the qualification campaign for AX-1 Ares.

“Every mission so far has been hand-built,” said the company’s chief executive. “The next decade needs machines that come off a line, by the dozen, with the same qualification file each time.”

The round was led by existing investors with participation from three European sovereign funds. XNANU will grow from 210 to roughly 500 people over the next eighteen months, with hiring concentrated in autonomy, thermal engineering and manufacturing.