Exotrail joins French Tech Next40/120, the national program dedicated to top-tier scale-ups

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On May 22, 2024 the French government unveiled the names of the companies to join the new promotion of the Next 40/120 program. Supporting the leading French scale-ups in their development challenges, and promoting them in France and internationally, this very selective program underlines the company capacity to demonstrates its leadership, as an industrial and deep-tech reference in France.

Exotrail joins a narrow circle of French scale-up companies pioneering innovation, building growth, and whose predecessors have built international success stories. This honorary distinction of Exotrail amongst the vibrant French startup ecosystem is a source of pride for the company and its collaborators, as it rewards the collective work since its foundation, in 2017.

As an end-to-end space mobility operator, Exotrail’s mission is to enable small satellites to move in space, optimize their deployment, increase their service performance, and reduce space pollution. As of today, more than 10 satellites in orbit embark Exotrail state of the art engines, the company’s first satellite (the spacevan™) is operated since last November, with the help of in-house developed software tools, and has successfully achieved its first logistics operation last February, releasing a satellite on its required orbit.

The 58M$ series B fundraising, announced in February 2023, has enabled Exotrail to extend its staff – 160 collaborators to date – and stir the dynamics of its activities: an ongoing e xtension of its Massy-based industrial facilities to 2000m²(21,500ft²), the kick-start of next in-orbit services missions, on top of the development of its international footprint – its US-based subsidiaries pacing up.

The Next 40/120 selection, based on financial (fundraisings, profits) and sustainability (women equality index and carbon footprint) criteria, has also distinguished other space actors amongst Exotrail peers – Unseenlabs (FT120) joining this year, and our predecessors Loft orbital (Next 40), and Kinéis (FT120) in previous promotions – stressing the vitality and maturity of the whole space ecosystem in France.

In the light of this award, the co-founder and CEO, Jean-Luc Maria has stated:

“It has been an incredible journey from our first days focused on deep-tech R&D, to building the company Exotrail is today: part of French Tech 120, recognized as one of the top France-based startups. We are grateful for the unwavering national support, helping fast-developing companies like us to shoot for the stars! We look forward to keeping on delivering for our customers worldwide, and building the future of space logistics, with Exotrail at the forefront of this new space era endeavor. »