UEL Closes $8M Pre-Series A to Advance Moon-Surface Rover Demonstrations

UEL (Unmanned Exploration Laboratory), a South Korean startup developing lunar exploration rovers, has closed a pre-SeriesA funding round worth approximately $8M (KRW 12.1 billion).

The round brought together ten new investors: Korea Development Bank, Korea Technology Finance Corporation, KDB Infrastructure Asset Management, ID Ventures, Woori Venture Partners, InterValue Partners, Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, IBK Venture Investment, Game Changer Investment, and A Ventures. Seed-round participants Sopoong Ventures, BeHigh Investment, and POSTECH Holdings joined as follow-on investors.

UEL plans to use the capital to validate its rover’s actual lunar mission capabilities. The company will begin sequential lunar demonstration missions starting next year, with plans to deploy its two-wheeled rover SCARAB in a real mission during 2027–2028.

Placing a rover on the Moon requires securing payload capacity on a lunar lander. UEL has been working with aerospace companies participating in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to finalize its payload arrangements. The startup plans to fly its rovers on landers built or supplied by NASA-selected CLPS vendors including Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, and Draper, as well as ispace, which supplies a lander to the Draper team.

Founded as a research laboratory in 2018 and incorporated in June 2023, UEL develops a range of exploration platforms including a two-wheeled lunar rover, compact exploration vehicles, a four-wheeled rover, and a folding rover. The company holds more than 10 registered patents and has published over 60 domestic and international academic papers. It has completed technology transfers with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, and has performed more than 15 government-funded projects over the past three years. In 2024, UEL closed its seed round and was selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ DeepTech TIPS program.

Private investment in South Korea’s aerospace sector has remained active. Launch-vehicle startup UNASTELLA closed a $22.2M Series B round in June to expand its sustainable launch business, and space-infrastructure startup Intergravity raised $5.3M in a pre-Series A in April, underscoring continued momentum in the country’s commercial space sector.