With previous rounds raising $30m in May 2023 and $15m in August 2023, it brings the total in Series B Extension rounds to $60.5M.
The lead investor in the latest funding round was Maezawa Fund. This is a VC fund operated by Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Yusaku Maezawa.
Existing investors included Green Co-Invest Investment, MSIVC 2023V Venture Capital Investment and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital IX.
With the additional funding, it “aims to further advance on-orbit services and lunar infrastructure construction”. This will be in the U.S. space and defence market.
Gitai USA
“Gitai’s monumental challenge to reduce space development costs by 1/100 holds vast potential to expand the boundaries of our future,” said Yusaku Maezawa.
“Achieving this will bring space closer to our daily lives and business, transforming it into a more accessible domain. We are genuinely excited to support Gitai in pioneering this new frontier.”
In 2023, Gitai relocated its headquarters from Japan to the United States. All non-U.S. national management team members obtained permanent resident status, officially establishing Gitai as a United States-based company.
Image: Gitai – autonomous robot, which operates externally to the ISS
See also: Getting a grip with space robotics in simulated regolith chamber