Photo: Astroscale

Astroscale Holdings Inc. has opened a Series E funding round and secured Japanese data center provider I-NET Corp. as its first investor, the company announced Monday. Astroscale hopes to close the Series E funding round by the end of 2020, and the amount of I-NET’s investment was not disclosed.

Astroscale, which is developing technology and services to remove space debris, said the additional financing will be used to broaden its current business services and work toward the company’s mission of securing a sustainable orbital environment. Earlier this year the company was awarded a grant of up to $4.5 million from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Innovation Tokyo Project,” and was also selected as commercial partner for Phase I of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) first debris removal project.

“Our daily lives have changed drastically and we have come to depend on satellite services at a whole new level during this unprecedented global crisis,” said Nobu Okada, Astroscale founder and CEO. “Now, more than ever, it is evident that we need to take action to protect assets in space and, with the broadening of our business services, we will be even better positioned to meet the challenges of orbital sustainability. We are grateful to I-NET as the first investor of our Series E funding round.”