Ontario pension backs US$100M funding for tech firm spotting deposits from space

Australia's Fleet Space Technologies announced Wednesday it raised US$100 million led by the investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan to expand its ExoSphere exploration platform.

The Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, led the funding and was joined in the Series D funding round with Blackbird Ventures, Hostplus, Horizons Ventures, Artesian Venture Partners and Alumni Ventures.

TVG's senior managing director, Rick Prostko, said Wednesday that Ontario Teachers were proud to support Fleet Space's work in accelerating the energy transition.

“Current methods fail to meet the growing demand for critical minerals,” he said in a statement. “Fleet Space’s advanced 3=D subsurface imaging and AI tools transform the industry sustainably and help achieve global net-zero targets.”

Private firm Fleet Space uses satellite technology, AI and real-time 3-D imaging to speed up critical mineral searches. The funds raised increased the outfit’s valuation to US$525 million.

Ontario Teachers had $255.8 billion in net assets as of June 30. It holds diverse assets, including a 2019 investment in Elon Musk's reusable rocket firm, SpaceX. Past mining-related investments include Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B; NYSE: TECK).

Scaling innovation

Fleet Space CFO, Federico Tata Nardini, stressed the funding’s importance. “Securing this investment during a challenging venture capital market demonstrates strong confidence in our mission,” he said Wednesday in a release. “It enables us to scale innovation and address critical mineral shortages.”

A Series D funding round is a late-stage financing event. A company raises capital from investors to support its growth. This often involves scaling operations, entering new markets, or preparing for an IPO. At this stage, the company typically has a proven business model, established revenue streams and significant market traction.

Founded in 2015 by Flavia Tata Nardini and Matt Pearson, Fleet Space expanded fast. Nardini is a former European Space Agency propulsion engineer. Pearson is an aerospace entrepreneur. The company now operates in the U.S., Canada, Chile, and Luxembourg. It has over 130 employees from 37 countries.

Last month, Fleet Space partnered with IsoEnergy (TSX: ISO). They plan to deploy ExoSphere Discovery tech at IsoEnergy's Larocque East uranium project in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin. This initiative identified six new priority drill targets at the Larocque East Project, home to the high-grade Hurricane uranium deposit.

In October, it partnered with Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO; LSE: RIO; NYSE: RIO) to advance exploration at the Rincon lithium project in Argentina. At Rincon, ExoSphere’s subsurface mapping covers 100 sq. km of salt flats and subvolcanic structures.

Space frontier

Fleet Space is also advancing off-Earth exploration. Its seismic sensor tech, key to ExoSphere, will launch on the Moon in 2026 via the SPIDER program, developed with MIT Media Lab.

Fleet Space CEO Matt Pearson sees this as a natural progression. “Our advancements in Earth’s subsurface exploration enhance scalable systems for lunar and Martian exploration. We stand at the threshold of a new chapter in space exploration,” he said in a release.