Space Business Catalyst
Our industrial accelerator is part of the Space Business Catalyst, an initiative led by Thales Alenia Space’s Innovation Cluster to support the emergence of new markets, technologies and players in the space sector, through intrapreneurial projects as well as open innovation at large, including investing in startups but also indeed helping them go from Powerpoint to space.
The accelerator aims in particular to shape and develop the space ecosystem of the future in collaboration with the best startups, offering full-fledge innovation with Thales Alenia Space and its ecosystem.
Our acceleration programme has pioneered the industrial approach, offering a unique mix of resources and expertise to foster rapid industrial development with a key player of the space sector. The programme lasts six months minimum on site in Thales Alenia Space premises of Toulouse, France and Turin, Italy (location dependent on topic) with in-house coaches and mentors dedicated to each startup. Beyond being related to space, Thales Alenia Space looks for space startups for which sustainability is at the heart of their strategy.
The programme aims at defining what space will look like tomorrow: this immersive experience collaboratively explores, emerges and shapes new markets and technologies to eventually create value and business together. Fully tailored, the programme starts with exploration and identification of areas of shared interest. It then focuses on generating the maximum return on investment for everybody with concrete outcomes such as bids, projects, solution validation, business strategy and so on.
EUSPA startups along with other space startups and Thales Alenia Space intrapreneurial projects gain access to in-house technical experts for privileged exchanges and reviews, as well as in-house cutting-edge prototyping facilities. Thales Alenia Space commercial network also helps startups with invaluable go-to-market to develop business together while Thales Alenia Space provides outreach to its ecosystem including institutions and investors to boost the startups’ journey. Startups then benefit from preferred conditions for the use of assembly, integration and testing means for space infrastructures. Eventually, the programme offers the possibility of funded projects, but also forming partnerships including investment from Thales Corporate Ventures.
The programme is free of charge except for the costs incurred for the duration of the acceleration by the physical presence of part of the startup’s team required either in Toulouse or Turin and the use of the assembly, integration and testing means, the full-time secondment of experts and space software building blocks available to help fast-track to operations.
Selected applicants may join at any point in time this holistic programme which acts as a true spearhead of NewSpace at the intersection between corporates and startups.