This article was published on June 10, 2025, at 3:57 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Venture capitalists (VCs) who invested in INNOSPACE, dubbed the 'first space launch vehicle listed company,' are facing losses as the stock price has dropped significantly. The stock price fell below half of the offering price, leading to over 30 billion won in bets, but the share price has plummeted again, causing asset value to shrink by more than 10% within three months of investment.
According to the VC industry on the 10th, IMM Investment, Shinhan Venture Investment, and Stick Ventures hold 13.72% (1,490,860 shares) of the conversion preferred stock (CPS) of INNOSPACE, which is valued at 26.9 billion won based on the closing price (17,960 won) that day, reflecting a decline of over 12% compared to the initial investment three months ago.
In March, IMM Investment, Shinhan Venture Investment, Stick Ventures, and others participated as investors in INNOSPACE's 30.6 billion won third-party allocation capital increase, becoming major shareholders. Specifically, they secured 1,490,860 CPS that can be converted into common stock at the issue price of 20,525 won.
At that time, VCs judged INNOSPACE's stock price to be at a low point and decided to invest. Given that VCs typically favor investments in unlisted companies due to the expectation of higher returns, the fact that INNOSPACE's stock price, which debuted at 43,300 won (the offering price), fallen to the 20,000 won range was significant.
However, INNOSPACE's stock price moved contrary to VCs' expectations. Following additional funding ahead of its commercial launch, the stock price rose until mid-May, but a single-day drop of 15.69% on the 27th of last month has prevented it from recovering even to 20,000 won since then.
The delay of INNOSPACE's small satellite launch vehicle 'Hanbit-Nano' has become a negative factor. INNOSPACE, a launch vehicle specialist company, has positioned its primary business as providing launch services for small satellites for Earth observation, but it has yet to succeed in a commercial launch since its establishment in 2017.
In particular, INNOSPACE set a goal of generating 47.8 billion won in revenue this year by starting commercial launches in March, but it has not even determined when the commercial launch will take place. Earlier this year, the launch schedule was postponed to July, and last month it was adjusted to later this year.
Despite the stock price decline, VCs remain optimistic. This is because they have a refixing clause that allows the CPS conversion price to be adjusted down to 14,368 won. With a long conversion claim period until 2035, there is an expectation that the stock price will rise upon the success of commercial launches.
However, some in the industry are predicting that a stock price increase will not be easy. The success of commercial launches themselves is not simple, and there may be repeated failures even after such successes. Companies in the U.S. and Europe also frequently encounter challenges.
For instance, the U.S. small launch vehicle company Astra Space went public on Nasdaq in 2021 at a valuation of $2.1 billion (about 29 trillion won) but was ultimately delisted. The two-stage liquid rocket successfully achieved orbital flight but continued to incur losses due to frequent launch failures and decreased reliability.
The British Virgin Group's space launch vehicle startup Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy. Established in 2017, it attempted to enter the commercial launch market following the successful entry of its space launch vehicle 'Launcher One' into low Earth orbit in 2021, but ultimately went bankrupt as the technology did not operate reliably.
A source in the VC industry noted, "The space industry requires large-scale capital investment, but it is difficult to achieve visible results in a short time frame," adding, "While the goal was to recover the investment after a successful commercial launch, VCs may have to continue investing further in INNOSPACE in the future."