Models
1
Deploy Watch
Track ispace on Deploy.
We notify you when a verified state change lands on the record, not when the company issues a claim.
Key facts
Focus
Robot
Stock listing
Total funding
Missions
Financial stage
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →ispace on the deployment map
Where ispace's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Relationships
Explainers
Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about ispace, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.
- What is ispace HAKUTO-R?
HAKUTO-R is a commercial lunar lander program by Japanese company ispace. Mission 1 (April 2023) and Mission 2 (June 2025) both failed during descent: M1 ran out of altimeter data during descent and crashed; M2 also crashed during the descent profile. Both missions are documented failures at primary-source verification depth.
- What is autonomous space systems?
Autonomous space systems is a cohort of robotic platforms whose primary feature is autonomy in space operations: lunar landers, planetary rovers, orbital servicing satellites, station robotics, and crew + cargo autonomy. The verified-vs-claimed angle is unusually strong: honest mission outcomes anchor the editorial substance. Five lunar landings in 2023-2025 produced one full success, two partial successes, and two failures.
- How does DEPLOY apply verified-vs-claimed discipline to autonomous space missions?
Space is the ultimate hype sector: dramatic claims, high stakes, and a public that wants to believe. DEPLOY's verified-vs-claimed discipline reads every mission outcome against primary-source telemetry, customer-of-record acceptance, and published mission records, not maker press releases, to produce an honest capability map. The framework distinguishes full success from tipped, failed from never-attempted, and demonstrated from pre-flight, treating precision as editorial substance.
Current leadership (1)
- Takeshi Hakamada Founder and CEOsince 2010-01-01secondary-verified
Founders (1)
- Takeshi Hakamadasolefounded 2010-01-01
Safety record
No incidents on record for ispace.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
ispace in third-party press
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- Astroscale2 models
- China Manned Space Agency2 models
- GITAI2 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (4)
- Other2025-10-01
$130M(reported)
- Series C2021-06-01
$46M
Investors: Incubate Fund (lead), Airbus Ventures
- Series B2020-08-20
$28M
Investors: Incubate Fund (lead)
- Series A2017-12-12
$90M(reported)
Investors: Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) (lead), KDDI Corporation, Japan Airlines (JAL)
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 6, 2026
ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1 landing attempt
- Record createdJun 5, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 5, 2025
HAKUTO-R Lander at The Moon
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedApr 25, 2023
HAKUTO-R Lander at The Moon
Sources (1)
Common questions
- What is ispace?
- Japanese commercial lunar-exploration company; maker of the HAKUTO-R lunar lander and TENACIOUS micro-rover.
- What does ispace make?
- ispace has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: HAKUTO-R Lander (ispace builds physical robots).
- Who competes with ispace?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to ispace building in the same form factors include Impulse Space, Astrobotic Technology, China National Space Administration, Astroscale.
- Who is the CEO of ispace?
- Takeshi Hakamada is the ceo of ispace, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Where is ispace headquartered?
- ispace is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
- Where does ispace operate robots?
- ispace is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is ispace a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, ispace ranks in roughly the top 9% of companies tracked by the registry.
- When was ispace founded?
- ispace was founded in 2010.
- Is ispace safe?
- ispace has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-16
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-16
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for ispace.Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- Astroscale2 models
- China Manned Space Agency2 models
- GITAI2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning ispace from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
ispace and SKY Perfect Sign MOU to Advance Commercial Communications Infrastructure for Japan’s Lunar Exploration Missions
TOKYO—July 16, 2026—ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (SKY Perfect JSAT) have signed a memorandum of…
ispace-U.S. Update on Contract with Draper
DENVER—July 15, 2026—ispace technologies U.S., (ispace-U.S.) an American lunar exploration company and subsidiary of ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), and Draper, a non-profit…
Ispace CEO on Lunar Transportation Plans With SpaceX
Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO at Ispace, discusses the company's plans to to create a lunar payload service to be launched aboard a SpaceX Starship rocket. He speaks with…
ispace Accelerates Growth in the “Lunar Infrastructure Market”
ispace secures payload capacity on SpaceX’s Starship scheduled for launch as early as 2030 TOKYO—July 8, 2026—ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration…
ispace Announces Reappointment of Board Members
TOKYO—June 26, 2026—ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, today announced that 7 members of its Board of Directors and two auditors were…
ispace-U.S. Announces New Executive Vice President of Business Development
Bretton Alexander Brings Deep Space Ties and Extensive Industry Network DENVER—June 2, 2026— ispace-U.S., a subsidiary of ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar…
Asian Legal Business Selects ispace as a Finalist for “Japan Law Awards 2026”
A first for ispace’s Legal Team & Japanese Space Start-ups TOKYO—May 28, 2026—ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, today announced that it was…
JAL Group Launches “ARGO PROJECT,” the World’s First Lunar Transport Service by an Airline
JALUX and ispace Sign 2028 Payload Service Agreement to Deliver Cultural Artifacts TOKYO—May 26, 2026—ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, and…
ispace Reports Full Year Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ending March 2026
With lunar transportation evolving from one-off experiments to an era of high-frequency infrastructure, ispace aims to further enhance mission quality and development efficiency…
ispace and University of Leicester Sign Payload Service Agreement for Lunar Raman Spectrometer Mission
TOKYO – May 13, 2026 – ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, and the University of Leicester (UoL) have signed a Payload Service Agreement (PSA)…
ispace-EUROPE Welcomes Japanese Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to Luxembourg Headquarters
Luxembourg, May 11, 2026 – ispace-EUROPE S.A. (ispace-EUROPE), the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc. (ispace), welcomed a high-level Japanese delegation led by Minister…
Status Update on ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon
ispace provides status update on Mission 2 after communication loss during lunar landing attempt. RESILIENCE lander fell silent.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/ispace.md
- RSS feed: /companies/ispace/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/1d07c554-a0d6-422c-8834-6c756afc49e0
- Revision history: /companies/ispace/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Impulse Space6 models
- Astrobotic Technology3 models
- China National Space Administration3 models
- Astroscale2 models
- China Manned Space Agency2 models
- GITAI2 models
Reality vs attention
ispace draws attention at the 65th percentile but verifies reality at the 63rd percentile among space robots. Hype Gap +1.4, 10th widest among space robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 2 verified deployments. Well-capitalized with $294M raised and recent funding activity. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 21, 2026