A Long March 5 launches the Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission Nov. 23, 2020. Credit: CNSA
HELSINKI — A six-month-old Chinese startup aiming to use artificial intelligence to compress rocket engine development cycles has raised $29.5 million in angel funding.
LegendSpace, full name Linjie Hangtian (Beijing) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., announced the 200 million yuan round July 16, with investors including Vitalbridge, Yuanma Lüdong, Shangshi Capital, Crystal Stream Capital and Oriental Fortune Capital, with Gaohu Capital acting as financial advisor.
The angel round is notably as large as some early stage rounds for launch vehicle startups, and follows the company’s appearance in People’s Daily reports and the recent successful capture and recovery of the first stage of the Long March 10B rocket.
The funding will be used in three main ways, according to the statement. These are to put multiple liquid rocket engines with various levels of thrust through approval, ground testing, and hot-state verification, iterative upgrades to the company’s “Prime” intelligent research platform to enhance its AI simulation and metal additive manufacturing capabilities, and establish an industrial chain support and production testing system as a step towards large-scale production capabilities.
