Polyakov's former company Firefly Aerospace has attracted інвестицій 75 million in investment. What will the money be used for?

The American aerospace company Firefly Aerospace, which was previously owned by Ukrainian IT entrepreneur Max Polyakov, has attracted інвестицій 75 million in investment in a new round of financing. The company is currently preparing for the second launch of its Alpha launch vehicle this spring, according to Space News.

In particular, private equity firm AE Industrial Partners (AEI) announced on March 22 that it had led a серії 75 million Series B round in Firefly, a month after it announced the acquisition of a "significant stake" in the space transportation company owned by Noosphere Ventures. In a statement, the AEI said it had closed the acquisition.

At the same time, the companies did not disclose the estimate of the round, except that it exceeded the Firef 75 million round of Firefly collected in May 2021, which estimated the company at more than.1 billion.

"Firefly now has the resources to drive new innovations in Space Launch Vehicles," said Kirk Konert, AEI partner, in a statement about the funding round.

In turn, Firefly CEO Tom Markusic noted that these investments allow the company to expand the pace of last year's financing and better position itself for future growth.

It is known that Firefly is developing an Alpha launch vehicle, which made its first attempt to launch into orbit in September 2021. The failure of one of the four engines on the first stage of the rocket seconds after launch did not allow the device to enter orbit.

However, the company suspended operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for a second launch in December after Polyakov-owned Noosphere announced it would sell its stake in about 50% of Firefly at the request of the U.S. Foreign Investment Committee (CFIUS).

In a statement, Polyakov said the deal with AEI "provides Firefly with a clear path to long-term success," adding that Noosphere has returned "a multiple of our initial investment" in the company.

After the sale is completed, Firefly says it is now gearing up for Vandenberg's Second Alpha launch in the second quarter of 2022. The company recently completed testing both stages of the device's launch at its Texas test site before shipping to Vandenberg.

Earlier, Ukrainian IT entrepreneur, billionaire Max Polyakov donated 1 1 million for humanitarian support and the needs of the Ukrainian army. In total, he outlined the task of raising 3 30 million in 30 days.