Press release
Cosmo Bee Raises KRW 6 Billion in Series A Funding to Localize “Starlink Technology”
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Cosmo Bee’s Honeybee Hall thruster for microsatellites
Satellite constellations, in which multiple satellites operate as a group like SpaceX’s Starlink, are becoming increasingly widespread. As this trend grows, thrusters—devices that continually fine-tune a satellite’s orbit once it reaches space—are emerging as essential components. Cosmo Bee recently raised KRW 6 billion in Series A funding. According to the investment banking industry on July 16, existing investors Company K Partners, KT Investment and dcamp made follow-on investments, while IMM Investment joined as a new investor. Cosmo Bee previously raised Pre-Series A funding in 2025.
Thrusters were not typically essential when operating a single satellite. Constellations, however, must continually adjust their orbits to prevent satellites from drifting out of position and periodically restore altitude lost to atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit. Thrusters perform both functions. Thrusters are divided into chemical and electric types. Cosmo Bee’s Hall thruster is an electric system that accelerates and expels ionized gas using electrical energy. SpaceX’s Starlink uses this method and leads the field. Demand for electric thrusters is surging as countries expand their satellite constellations. However, the technology is classified as critical and subject to regulations such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This has driven a trend, particularly in Europe and China, toward using locally developed products.
Founded in July 2023 from KAIST’s Electric Propulsion Laboratory under Professor Wonho Choe, Cosmo Bee specializes in Hall thrusters. The new funding will be used to validate Honeybee, its Hall-thruster system for microsatellites weighing up to 200 kilograms, in space and establish a mass-production system. Cosmo Bee’s Hall-thruster technology was officially certified as a “New Space Technology” by the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) in June 2026. Cosmo Bee is validating its core technologies in stages under actual space conditions.
In November 2025, K-HERO, a microsatellite developed with KAIST, flew aboard Nuri’s fourth launch, beginning in-space validation of its low-power Hall thruster. During Nuri’s fifth launch in September 2026, the company plans to validate the hollow cathode, an electron-emission component required for Hall-thruster operation, aboard a component-validation satellite operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).
On Nuri’s sixth launch in 2027, it plans to collect data on the in-space operation of its independently developed power conversion and control unit. Through this series of in-space validation missions, Cosmo Bee plans to improve Honeybee’s reliability, expand its assembly and testing facilities, recruit specialists and accelerate product commercialization and the acquisition of domestic and international satellite contracts. “It is impressive that Cosmo Bee has produced tangible results in low-power Hall thrusters in such a short period,” said Kang-soo Lee, CEO of Company K Partners, which also participated in the company’s August 2025 funding round. “As global demand for low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations grows, Cosmo Bee’s localized technology will have strong market competitiveness.”
“With the installation of thrusters on low-Earth-orbit satellites increasingly becoming mandatory, Cosmo Bee’s technology is free from stringent U.S. component-control restrictions and offers excellent price competitiveness,” said Yoonho Kim, Senior Manager at IMM Investment. “It provides a clear domestic alternative for a Korean market that has relied on imports and will also be highly competitive globally.” “With this investment, we will proceed with the in-space validation of our core technologies and the establishment of our mass-production system as planned,” Cosmo Bee CEO Dongha Park said. “Our goal is to become a competitive electric-propulsion-system company in the global small-satellite market.”
Original article : Cosmo Bee Raises KRW 6 Billion in Series A Funding to Localize “Starlink Technology”