Karman+

Karman+ is an asteroid prospecting and resource extraction startup with operations in Amsterdam and Denver, founded in 2021 by Teun van den Dries. The company is developing small spacecraft designed to rendezvous with near-Earth asteroids and extract water ice and volatiles for use as in-space propellant, fundamentally aiming to create a propellant-supply economy for cislunar and deeper-space missions.

Karman+ has announced pre-Series A funding rounds led by investors focused on deep-tech and space resources, and has publicly targeted a prospecting demonstration mission later in the 2020s. The company's approach differs from earlier asteroid-mining entrants (Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries) in its focus on near-term commercial propellant rather than precious metals, and on the sustainability of using space resources rather than launching everything from Earth.

The broader market thesis tracks with NASA's Artemis architecture and an emerging cislunar economy that requires refueling services. Karman+ joins a small cohort of active asteroid resource companies including AstroForge, TransAstra, and Cosmic Shielding.