France’s Aerospace Startups Are Shooting For The Stars

France has always had ambitions that stretch beyond the horizon. Lately, these ambitions have been pointed a little further up. Past the horizon, past the clouds and, well, straight into orbit.

There has been a wave of ambitious aerospace startups emerging from around the country, from Paris to Toulouse to Reims, ready to showcase their technology and backed by some serious funding.

France Has Well And Truly Lifted Off

To date, the country spends an estimated €3 billion per year on its civil and military space programmes. It’s one of the largest budgets in Europe and the second highest per capita in the world.

Just in 2025, ten French SpaceTech and aerospace companies raised a combined €373.7 million. It’s a staggering figure. And in November of last year, President Macron announced an additional €4.2 billion in military space spending through to the year 2030.

Add this to the France 2030 initiative – a €54 billion transformation programme that has earmarked substantial funds for new space projects – and you have a pretty fertile environment for new startups.

The Top Aerospace Startups In France

So, who are some of the most notable French startups dominating the aerospace scene – and the skies? Let’s take a closer look at them.

1. MaiaSpace

MaiaSpace was founded in 2022 as a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, the company behind the legendary Ariane family of rockets. Its vehicle, the Maia rocket, is a two-stage partially reusable launcher capable of delivering up to 1,500kg to low Earth orbit in expendable mode, or 500kg in its reusable configuration.

In 2024, the company reported €180 million in advance payments. This figure is linked to the French government’s France 2030 programme, which selected MaiaSpace alongside three other French launch startups for a share of €400 million in launcher development funding.

2. Sirius Space Services

Based in the Île-de-France region, Sirius Space Services is building a scalable range of launch vehicles, all of which are powered by its own in-house liquid methane and liquid oxygen STAR 1 engine, designed and manufactured using metal additive manufacturing.

In 2024, Sirius was awarded the French government’s “Demonstration of a micro and mini-launch service” contract, leading to the signing of its first commercial deal with both the government and CNES as clients. In the same year, the company also signed a multi-year resident launcher agreement with Equatorial Launch Australia.

3. HyPrSpace

HyPrSpace has one of the most distinctive product names in the industry – their orbital rocket is called the Orbital Baguette. But beneath the playful branding is some genuinely serious engineering. They have developed a patented hybrid propulsion system that combines solid fuel with cryogenic liquid oxygen as the oxidiser.

In late 2025, HyPrSpace closed a €21 million Series A led by Red River West and Bpifrance’s DeepTech 2030 fund. The suborbital Baguette One is planned for its first flight this year from a French Ministry of Defence missile test site on mainland France – a historic first for the country.

4. Loft Orbital

Loft Orbital has a refreshingly practical take on space. They offer what they call “condosat” services – essentially timeshares in space. Customers, including NASA and European fleet operator Eutelsat, pay to have their payloads hosted aboard Loft’s satellites. Sharing the spacecraft with other clients dramatically reduces costs and development timelines.

In January of last year, the company raised $170 million in a Series C round and they have deployed five satellites to date, with thirty more in its backlog. They are also expanding manufacturing to a new 4,600-square-metre facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of a joint venture.

5. Exotrail

Founded in 2017, Exotrail is like the logistics company of low Earth orbit. Once your satellite gets to orbit, the company’s SpaceVan orbital transfer vehicle moves it to exactly where it needs to be. They also offer a full suite of in-space mobility products including electric propulsion systems and software for satellite fleet operations.

Exotrail has raised $58 million in funding and has more than thirty customers across Europe, North America and Asia. With a team of over 150 people across two French sites and triple-digit revenue growth in the last couple of years, they are one of the most commercially mature companies in the industry.

6. Look Up Space

Look Up Space was founded by the former head of France’s Space Command and the ex-Chief of Space Surveillance at CNES. With over 10,000 active satellites in orbit and hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris, the question of who can actually see what’s up there is becoming more urgent than ever.

They are building SORASYS, a global network of ground-based radars which can track small objects in low Earth orbit. In June of 2025, they raised €50 million in one of the largest Series A rounds in European space technology in a decade. Two more of their radars are headed for French Polynesia, with a goal of seven interconnected radars globally by 2030.