RAÚL TORRES, CEO and co-founder of PLD Space

Raúl Torres, a 33-year-old Spanish businessman, is CEO and co-founder of PLD Space, the Spanish launcher company that will provide scientific and commercial access to space for small satellites and payloads.

Raúl has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Alicante and has studies in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

In 2011, Raúl Torres founded, together with Raúl Verdú, PLD Space. The company closed its first initial investment round in 2013, with an investment of 1 million euros and with the participation of Business Angels and public institutions (CDTI).

At the end of 2015, the Spanish Science Association honored both co-founders for their achievements in the field of space propulsion; PLD Space developed from scratch and tested in its private facilities, located at the Teruel airport, the first reusable liquid rocket engine in Europe fully dedicated to driving the industry.

At the end of 2016, PLD Space closed a series A1 investment round of more than 6 million euros between public and private investment and with the corporate backing of the Spanish space company GMV as a technical investor and shareholder.

In May 2018, PLD Space raised an investment round of 10 million euros with the participation of new investors such as the Spanish aeronautical firm ACITURRI and the venture capital fund JME, from José Manuel Entrecanales, CEO of Acciona.

In April 2019, the recovery test of a demonstrator of the first stage of the orbital launcher was carried out, in which the Army collaborated with the support from a Chinook helicopter. This trial, framed within a project for the development of future launchers (FLPP) of the (ESA), with the support of CDTI, was intended to validate the MIURA 5 recovery system.

Recently the company has closed a new investment of 7 million Euros with Arcano Partners.