Canada Rocket Company Raises $6.2M To Build Canadian Launch Vehicles

Canada Rocket Company (CRC), a Toronto-based launch startup, has emerged from stealth with a $6.2M CAD ($4.5M USD) seed funding round led entirely by Canadian investors, marking one of the largest all-Canadian seed rounds to date for a space and defense startup.

The round was co-led by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Garage Capital (Mike McCauley, Devon Galloway, Michael Litt), with participation from Ripple Ventures (Matt Cohen, Dominic Lau), Panache Ventures (Patrick Lor 🚀, Prashant Matta, Sarah Willson), Northside Ventures (Alex McIsaac), Cold Capital (Evan McCann), and Carvalho Capital (Jason Carvalho)

CRC was founded in late 2025 by CEO Hugh Kolias and CTO David Tenny to develop sovereign Canadian light- and medium-lift launch capabilities, reducing the country’s reliance on foreign launch providers and strengthening national space autonomy.

The company plans to build a scalable methalox-powered launch architecture centered around its E-1 engine, with initial engine testing targeted for 2027 and a turbopump configuration by early 2028. 

CRC’s first vehicle, R-1, is a light-lift rocket capable of delivering up to 700 kg to LEO or 400 kg to SSO, designed for rapid, responsive launch within 96 hours.

CRC’s medium-lift vehicle, R-2, will use seven E-1 engines and aims to deliver up to 6,500 kg to LEO, positioning Canada to independently deploy and sustain large-scale satellite constellations.

The company is racing to meet the Canadian government’s “Launch the North” challenge, which commits $105M CAD in public funding to support sovereign launch systems capable of reaching orbit by 2028.

Image Credits: Canada Rocket Company