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Toyota's mobility subsidiary invests $44.3 million in Japanese rocket company.
Interstellar Technologies (IST) is set to receive a multimillion-dollar investment from Toyota Woven by “first close” of its Series F fundraiser, the rocket company said on Tuesday. It also announced a “business alliance” with Toyota.
IST said it “is focused on leveraging automotive industry expertise, including Toyota production methodsto transform rocket production into a high-quality, cost-effective and scalable process.”
The Toyota logo is pictured in Brussels on March 4, 2024. (REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo/Reuters Photos)
“We are excited to work with Interstellar Technologies on the mass production of rockets,” said Hajime Kumabe, CEO of Toyota Woven. “This business alliance will leverage the Toyota Group's extensive manufacturing capabilities and combine our expertise to advance rocket manufacturing and further transform mobility.”
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As part of the equity and business tie-up, Woven will appoint a director to IST's board of directors and support rocket manufacturing by strengthening supply chains and corporate governance, IST said in a statement.
The announcement came after Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda spoke at the CES trade show in Las Vegas on Monday, announcing news on the company's experimental Woven City project, which was announced in 2020.
“The future of mobility should not be limited to just Earth or just one car company,” Toyoda said. “Speaking of the sky, we're also exploring rockets.
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Woven by Toyota's investment is not the first time Toyota and Interstellar have collaborated. The companies are making “personnel changes” from 2020, the rocket startup said.
The announcement came after Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's speech at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. (Piotr Swat/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
In its announcement Tuesday of a planned $44.3 million investment, Interstellar noted that the Japanese government wants to about 30 rocket launches per year “until the early 2030s” to “cover the increasing demand for launches in the domestic and international markets”.
According to Interstellar, three rockets launched in Japan last year.
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The rocket company said in August that it did Series E fundraising efforts brought in ¥3.1 billion in funding. That round included a third-party equity allocation, according to its press release at the time.
Reuters contributed to this report.
