About Pale Blue
Pale Blue is an Aerospace, Defense & Maritime company based in Kashiwa (Japan) founded in 2020 by Yuichi Nakagawa, Hiroyuki Koizumi, Kazuya Yaginuma, and Jun Asakawa. Water-based propulsion systems are developed for sustainable space mobility. It operates on a Product-as-a-Service and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model. Pale Blue has raised $33.17 million across 8 funding rounds from investors including Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyu Construction and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Jun Asakawa. Pale Blue offers products and services including PBR-10, PBR-20, PBR-50, PBI, and Water Hall-effect Thruster. Its focus areas include Aerospace, Space Technology and Propulsion Systems. Its legal entity is Pale Blue Inc.
Company details
Water-based propulsion systems are engineered by Pale Blue Inc. for sustainable space development. Focus is placed on creating high-performance spacecraft thrusters using water as a green propellant. Solutions are provided for small satellites, including CubeSats and MicroSats, across various thrust capacities. The aerospace sector is primarily served, with an emphasis on innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Patented miniaturized ECR technology is utilized to enhance performance while maintaining safety and sustainability in space mobility.
- Headquarters Kashiwa, Japan
- Founders Yuichi Nakagawa, Hiroyuki Koizumi, Kazuya Yaginuma, Jun Asakawa
- SectorsAerospace, Defense & Maritime
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website pale-blue.co.jp
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram
- Legal Name Pale Blue Inc.
- Total Equity Funding$33.17M (USD)
in 8 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$10.17M (USD), Series C
Aug 2025
- InvestorsMitsubishi Electric
& 16 more
Products & Services of Pale Blue
Pale Blue offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including PBR-10, PBR-20, PBR-50, PBI, and Water Hall-effect Thruster.
Designed for 3U-6U CubeSats with nominal thrust.
Optimized for 6U-8U CubeSats with higher thrust.
Built for 100-200kg MicroSats with strong thrust.
Tailored for NanoSats and MicroSats with impulse.
Developed for SmallSats up to 700kg capacity.
Funding Insights of Pale Blue
Pale Blue has successfully raised a total of $33.17M across 8 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $10.17 million completed in August 2025. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $33.17M
- Total Rounds 8
- Last Round Series C — $10.17M
- Investors Count 17
All 8 funding rounds of Pale Blue with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | $10.17M | Series C | – | – | |
| Jun 2024 | $8.5M | Series B | – | Astart, KURONEKO | |
| Feb 2024 | $27M | Grant | – | – | – |
| Oct 2023 | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – | |
| Oct 2023 | $7.5M | Series B | – | Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Incubate Fund | – |
| Oct 2021 | $7M | Series A | – | Incubate Fund, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital | |
| Apr 2021 | Grant | – | – | ||
| Oct 2020 | Seed | – | Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Incubate Fund | – |
17 investors in total: 17 institutional.
Investors in Pale Blue
Pale Blue has secured backing from 17 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyu Construction and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Seed to late-stage venture capital investments are made in Japan. | msivc.co.jp | Tokyo, Japan | ||
Venture capital investments and startup support services are provided by Incubate Fund in Japan. | 2010 | incubatefund.com | ||
Global Brain is recognized as a venture capital firm supporting startups. | globalbrains.com | Shibuya, Japan | ||
Early-stage startups are funded by sector-agnostic VC firm. | astart.co.jp | Minato City, Japan | ||
| g-cp.jp | ||||
A corporate venture capital firm based in Tokyo, Japan, investments are made in startups. | 2022 | sumisho-vp.com | Tokyo, Japan | |
Venture capital firm investing in biotech, adtech sectors | nissay-cap.co.jp | Chiyoda City, Japan | ||
Venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups | techv.co.jp/en/ | Minato, Japan | ||
Provides comprehensive diversified investment management services for clients. | 2020 | sparxsif.com | Konan, Japan | |
| kuronekoyamato.co.jp |
Investor details for Pale Blue
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Pale Blue
6 people are tracked at Pale Blue (6 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Yuichi Nakagawa | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Hiroyuki Koizumi | Co-Founder & CTO | Leadership |
Kazuya Yaginuma | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Jun Asakawa | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Akihiro Hattori | 経営企画チーム長/head Of Corporate Planning Team | Leadership |
Naoki Funahashi | Vice President, Business Development | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Pale Blue
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Pale Blue
3 dated milestones of Pale Blue across 5 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Pale Blue is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $10.2M.
Web traffic of Pale Blue
The website of Pale Blue (pale-blue.co.jp) receives about 7.1K visits a month.
- Monthly visits7.1K
▲ 3.9% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Pale Blue. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
space-connect.jp | space-connect.jp | 100% | #2,045,414 | – | |
| yamato-hd.co.jp | 79% | 961.8K | #33,051 | View details | |
| bradford-space.com | 48% | 4.9K | #3,817,921 | View details |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Pale Blue
Pale Blue was founded in 2020.
Pale Blue is headquartered in Kashiwa, Japan. It is registered at Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Jun Asakawa is the CEO of Pale Blue, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Pale Blue is a funded company, having raised a total of $33.17M across 8 funding rounds to date.
Water-based propulsion systems are engineered by Pale Blue Inc. for sustainable space development. Focus is placed on creating high-performance spacecraft thrusters using water as a green propellant. Solutions are provided for small satellites, including CubeSats and MicroSats, across various thrust capacities. The aerospace sector is primarily served, with an emphasis on innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Patented miniaturized ECR technology is utilized to enhance performance while maintaining safety and sustainability in space mobility.
Pale Blue offers PBR-10, PBR-20, PBR-50, PBI, and Water Hall-effect Thruster.
Pale Blue has 17 investors. Key investors include Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyu Construction, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, Incubate Fund, and SPARX Innovation for Future.
Pale Blue operates through Pale Blue Inc..