Hanwha Asset Expands Investment in US Space Startup Impulse Space

Hanwha Asset Management has made an additional investment in US space transportation startup Impulse Space, extending the Korean financial company’s push into overseas deep-technology businesses.

The Korean asset manager joined a $308 million extension of Impulse Space’s Series D financing through a project fund backed by four Korean institutional investors. The extension lifted the total size of the Series D round to $808 million. Hanwha Asset did not disclose the size of its own contribution.

Impulse Space, founded in 2021 by SpaceX founding member and former chief technology officer Tom Mueller, develops spacecraft designed to move satellites and cargo to their intended destinations after launch. That capability addresses a separate stage of the space transportation market from the initial rocket launch, allowing payloads to maneuver between orbits or reach more precise locations.

Hanwha Asset said it has been the only Asian investor participating in Impulse Space funding rounds since the US company’s Series B financing in 2024. Its latest commitment adds to a deep-tech investment portfolio that already includes stakes in SpaceX and OpenAI.

The transaction highlights growing interest among Korean financial institutions in private technology companies operating in capital-intensive sectors with potentially large future markets. Space transportation, artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced energy and defense technology have become increasingly connected investment themes as governments and commercial operators seek more resilient infrastructure and specialized capabilities.

For Hanwha Asset, the deal also provides a way to connect Korean institutional capital with a privately held US aerospace company. The fund structure used for the investment was supported by four domestic institutions, and the asset manager said it plans to seek more co-investment opportunities with Korean investors.

Chief Executive Im Dong-jun said the investment was made possible by relationships with global deep-tech companies developed through early-stage backing. He said the company intends to use its investment experience and networks in the US technology sector to offer new products to customers.

Hanwha Asset is targeting additional opportunities across space, artificial intelligence, robotics, next-generation energy and defense technology. The expanded Impulse Space position therefore represents both a specific aerospace investment and part of a broader strategy to build access to unlisted global technology companies for Korean investors.

The company’s approach places emphasis on sectors where technical barriers and funding needs are high, while potential demand extends across commercial and public-sector customers. The performance of those investments will depend on product development, customer adoption and the ability of portfolio companies to scale, but the latest financing shows Hanwha Asset is prepared to increase its exposure as the market develops.