Japan

Pale Blue progressed to Phase 2 of the MEXT SBIR-3 program, unlocking up to $7.9M in additional funding for detailed system design and ground verification of its water-based ion and Hall-effect thrusters. Phase 2 runs through December 2026, with in-orbit demonstration the target for Phase 3.

University of Tokyo spin-out Pale Blue completed a ~$10M Series C (¥1.5bn), receiving its first investment from Mitsubishi Electric's ME Innovation Fund. Mitsubishi Electric makes and operates satellites — making this a strategic CVC play positioning Pale Blue as a preferred propulsion partner. Other investors include aStart, Nissay Capital, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, and Itochu Technology Ventures. Total raised to date reaches approximately $30M.

Pale Blue was awarded a grant of up to $27M (JPY 4 billion) from Japan's Ministry of Education MEXT under the SBIR-3 program to develop and demonstrate miniaturized water-based ion and Hall-effect thrusters for space debris mitigation by fiscal 2027. The three-phase grant covers fundamental design, ground verification, and in-orbit demonstration, targeting 10-100 kg class satellites with the ion thruster and 100-500 kg class with the Hall-effect thruster.