ispace has announced plans to establish a new subsidiary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expanding its global footprint and deepening its engagement with partners in the Middle East as lunar exploration activity accelerates.
The new entity, ispace Saudi Arabia (formal name pending), will become the company’s fourth global base, alongside existing operations in Japan, Europe and the United States. The announcement was made in Riyadh on 11 January 2026, coinciding with the Saudi–Japan Ministerial Investment Forum.
ispace said it has received an Investment Registration Certificate from the Saudi Ministry of Investment and is progressing commercial registration with the Ministry of Commerce to complete incorporation. The move reflects a broader commitment to work with Saudi commercial, academic and institutional partners to support the Kingdom’s growing role in global lunar exploration.
Saudi Arabia has been increasing investment in space technologies through initiatives such as the Public Investment Fund’s NEO Space Group and programs led by the Saudi Space Agency. ispace said the new Saudi entity will leverage its lunar mission experience to support not only lunar technology development and future missions, but also local capability development aligned with these national efforts.
The Saudi entity is expected to focus on industrial and academic collaboration, particularly in areas such as lunar surface exploration technologies, operations and in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU). These activities will be supported by ispace’s European team based in Luxembourg, which has experience in surface systems and resource utilisation concepts.
The announcement builds on ispace’s existing partnerships in the Kingdom. In 2025, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and in January 2026 entered into a further MoU with a leading Saudi science and technology organisation. Both agreements are aimed at exploring collaboration on lunar missions, technology development and workforce capability.
ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada said the new entity reflects growing momentum in Saudi Arabia’s space sector and the importance of international cooperation in expanding human activity beyond Earth.
“The establishment of ispace Saudi Arabia will allow us to engage more directly with our Saudi partners, accelerate joint projects and support capability development in lunar exploration within the Kingdom,” Hakamada said. “Building on our existing academic and institutional relationships, we look forward to creating new opportunities that support both Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambitions and the growth of its space economy.”
The formation of the Saudi entity was announced as part of a broader delegation of Japanese industry representatives attending the Saudi–Japan Ministerial Investment Forum, led by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, Khalid A. Al-Falih, and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa. The forum reaffirmed bilateral interest in strengthening cooperation across space, innovation and advanced technologies.
For ispace, the move positions the company closer to emerging lunar stakeholders in the Middle East at a time when national space programs are increasingly looking beyond Earth orbit toward sustained lunar activity and international partnerships.
IMAGE: Jumpei Nozaki, ispace, inc. Executive Business Director & CFO, and Atsushi Saiki, Business Development Fellow, at the Saudi-Japan Ministerial Investment Forum, where ispace announced the initiation of its Saudi Arabia entity.
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