Stellar Alpina banked €3.8 million in a pre-Seed round led by Founderful. The funding also included participation from LP&E and several strategic investors from the deep-tech ecosystem.
The Zurich-based startup develops rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) designed to improve how satellites and spacecraft move between orbits. Unlike traditional chemical rocket engines that rely on subsonic deflagration, the company’s technology harnesses supersonic detonation waves. This process extracts more energy from propellant, allowing for propulsion systems that are smaller, lighter and more efficient than current industry standards.
Founded in 2026 by Victor Elliesen, Rick Röthlisberger, Simi Y. Wespi and Patrick Egli, the team originated within the Academic Spaceflight Initiative Switzerland (ARIS). The founders previously developed a student-built RDRE in 2024 and have now commissioned their own test infrastructure to complete initial engine test campaigns.
The investment reflects a growing European focus on verticalised space infrastructure as orbital logistics and in-space servicing move from theoretical concepts to commercial procurement.
Originally reported by EU-Startups Daily.