Stellar Alpina secures 3.5 million francs

(CONNECT) Stellar Alpina AG, which is based in the Innovation Park Zurich and was founded in February 2026, has received 3.5 million Swiss francs in a pre-seed financing round, according to its press release. The round was led by the Zurich-based venture fund Founderful, which specializes in such early-stage financing. In addition to strategic investors from the deep-tech ecosystem, the venture capital firm LP&E from Stans, whose portfolio includes investments in the aerospace companies Isar Aerospace, Quantum Systems and Impulse Space, also participated.

The spin-off of the Swiss Academic Space Initiative in Dübendorf develops compact rotating detonation rocket engines (RDRE) that operate at supersonic speeds. They are designed to make transportation between orbits faster and more efficient. "We believe that detonation-based propulsion can enable the necessary quantum leap by making rocket engines smaller, more efficient and more powerful," co-founder Victor Elliesen is quoted as saying. "Stellar Alpina lays the foundation for mobility in space between worlds."

This new class of space drives, which Stellar Alpina is building, is up to ten times quieter, delivers higher performance and requires fewer mechanical components, according to another report from the start-up. "82 days after launching at our park, they have completed Europe's first known commercial RDRE propulsion test - and now a $4.5 million pre-seed round," commented Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich. "A wonderful example of what can grow when student teams, research and entrepreneurial drive come together in the right environment."

Thomas Zurbuchen, Professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Scientific Director at NASA between 2016 and 2022, describes it as his dream "to see how Swiss technology enables and expands space exploration. To do this, we need real entrepreneurial drive and energy. We need to support the doers who work hard and take personal risks to turn these ambitious goals into reality, and Stellar Alpina is just such a team!" ce/mm