Canada Rocket Company reclaims top talent to secure sovereign launch for Canada in space

Press Release + Noah Note

January 16, 2026 | Toronto, Ontario

Canada Rocket Company (CRC) today unveiled its plan to deliver independent, sovereign access to space. Headquartered in Toronto, CRC is developing a scalable launch system intended to support national security and commercial missions while building Canada's launch workforce and supply chain.

As space becomes increasingly central to national security, economic competitiveness, and allied cooperation, Canada remains dependent on foreign launch providers. CRC aims to close that gap with a made-in-Canada family of launch vehicles designed for scale, reliability, and cost discipline.

CRC's technical approach: From small launches to big capability

Medium-lift launch capability is essential to Canada's ability to deploy and sustain defense, civil, and allied space systems. Without it, Canada cannot independently place complex spacecraft in orbit, replenish critical constellations, or launch aggregated payloads at scale—leaving core national capabilities dependent on foreign launch providers. To fill this gap, CRC is developing its launch system with medium-lift capability as the primary design requirement, targeting payload capacity of 6,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit.

As an initial step, CRC is beginning with a light-lift vehicle architecture designed to meet sustained tactical launch requirements. This light-lift system is intended to provide responsive, repeatable access to orbit for time-sensitive missions while also serving as an industrialized foundation for the medium-lift vehicle. By maintaining design continuity across vehicle classes—standardizing propulsion, structures, avionics, and ground systems around a common methaLOX engine architecture designed for high-cadence, reusable operations—CRC's approach supports near-term operational launch capability and long-term global competitiveness.

The Team: Reclaiming Canadian talent

“For years, Canada's most valuable aerospace export hasn't been hardware—it's been people,” said Hugh Kolias, chief executive officer of Canada Rocket Company. “CRC is creating a reason for experienced engineers to come home and for the next generation to build their careers here.”

The company's leadership team brings more than 60 years of direct orbital launch experience, much of it gained abroad. CRC says this concentration of expertise enables rapid capability development while creating a training environment for Canadian engineers who previously had limited domestic pathways into launch system design and operations.

Canadian capital aligned with strategic domestic outcomes

CRC has raised $6.2 million in public and private capital, which is the largest all-Canadian seed round to date for a space and defense startup. The round was co-led by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Garage Capital, and included participation from Ripple Ventures, Panache Ventures, Northside Ventures, and Cold Capital. Additional backing comes from Canadian founders and angels associated with companies including Shopify, Wealthsimple, Ada, Humi, Inkbox, Holos, and Kepler Communications.

“Canada Rocket Company is led by an ambitious team with deep expertise in rocket science and orbital launch operations. We believe their differentiated approach and scalable architecture is a pathway to leadership in a critical market,” said Mark Smith, Partner & Team Lead with the Seed Venture Fund. “With its BDC Capital funds and new $4‑billion Defense Platform, BDC is helping SMEs scale in defense supply chains, accelerate dual-use innovation, and strengthen Canada's economic sovereignty. CRC is exactly the type of Canadian innovation we aim to propel.”

“Canada's world-class engineering talent has played a critical role in building the space-launch capabilities the world relies on today,” said Mike McCauley, General Partner at Garage Capital. “CRC has assembled a founding team with firsthand experience designing, building, and flying modern orbital-class rockets. At a time when sovereign access to space is becoming strategically essential, CRC enables Canada's top engineers to do their life's work at home - building launch capability for Canada. We couldn't be more excited to support this team and be part of this mission.”

Mina Mitry, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kepler Communications and an advisor to CRC, said the company fills a critical gap: “Canada's satellite sector needs a domestic launch partner with both the right architecture and the right people. CRC is positioned to become that partner.”

Strengthening Canada's industrial base

CRC plans to pursue a partnership-driven development model, working with Canadian suppliers to localize production and build out a resilient launch supply chain. Over time, the thousands company expects its activities to support high-skill engineering and manufacturing roles across the aerospace supply chain.

CRC intends to engage closely with government, academic institutions, and Indigenous partners as it progresses toward flight operations. The company is positioning its launch system as a long-term enabler for defense responsiveness, civil space missions, and commercial growth, contributing to Canada's broader objectives for sovereignty, innovation, and economic security.

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About Canada Rocket Company

Canada Rocket Company is a Toronto-based aerospace company developing sovereign launch capabilities for Canada. The company's mission is to provide reliable, domestically controlled access to space while strengthening Canada's industrial base and technical workforce.

Web: Canadarocketcompany.com

Co-founders

Canada Rocket Company’s leadership team has more than 60 years of direct orbital launch experience, including with the Canadian Space Agency, Falcon 9 and SpaceX.

Hugh Kolias is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Rocket Company. He is a mechanical engineer with over a decade of experience in scaling venture-backed companies. Hugh is Canada Rocket Company’s lead for capital strategy, partnerships, and company vision.

David Tenny is the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Canada Rocket Company. He is an aerospace engineer with 10 years at SpaceX on Falcon 9 propulsion and reuse, followed by 10 years in aerospace consulting. David has a deep expertise in propulsion design, testing, and reliable launch operations.

Current Company Partners

Canada Rocket Company has partnered with five Canadian companies and suppliers who are leaders in their fields:

• Eagle Flight Network (Indigenous-owned)
  

• NGC Aerospace
  

• Mission Control
  

• Moon and Mars Industries

• Launch Canada
  

Company Investors

Investors in Canada Rocket Company’s historic $6.2 million seed round include:

• Business Development Bank of Canada

• Garage Capital

• Ripple Ventures

• Northside Ventures

• Panache Ventures

• Cold Capital
  

As well as founders and angels from some of Canada’s fastest growing companies:

• Shopify
  

• Wealthsimple
  

• Ada
  

• Humi
  

• Inkbox
  

• Kepler Communications
  

• Holos
  

Strategic Advisory Board

Canada Rocket Company includes a strategic advisory board of leading aerospace experts who will help guide operations going forward.

• Alain Berinstain - Aerospace Specialist
  

• Mina Mitry - Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Kepler

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​Noah Note: Another player enters the Launch game! And with an absolutely stacked roster on top of that—wow. One of the things I have said before was that the renewed focus on defence would attract talent back to Canada—talent that is attracted by what they feel is an opportunity and a desire to come home.

​It's something I have not spoken a lot on, but I've been notably seeing and engaging with more. People are coming back; people want to bring the knowledge and experience they have to tackle the Canadian defence industry.

​This is one of those such cases, and again, I am thoroughly impressed by the amount of talent here. This new team includes two longtime SpaceX veterans: David Tenny and Eric Kupp. Tenny spent nearly a decade working on the Merlin engines and the early vertical landing architecture (F9R-Dev) that made reusability possible, with specific experience as a Responsible Engineer for the boost and landing engines. He is also the President of Ascent Space Technologies.

​Kupp, on the other hand, is coming from six years on the Dragon program, where he eventually led the Avionics Systems team. Although, sadly, that's all the information I can find, which isn't uncommon in these cases. It’s a pragmatic pairing: one knows how to make the rocket move, and the other knows how to control where it goes. It's an experienced pairing that you very rarely see coming into Canada, especially for a field such as space.

​Also on this team are Alain Berinstain and Mina Mitry. Berinstain is the current director of the Florida Space Institute and the former Chief Strategy Officer of both Consolidated Safety Services and Space Tango. Mina, of course, needs little introduction for those of you who have followed me for a while, being the CEO and Co-Founder of Kepler Communications—one of our regular space inclusions here!

​So, already a very stacked group in the leadership positions. Also of note is the funding aspect. One thing I think many can really appreciate without being involved is how much capital has seemingly opened up over the last few months, and how much easier it has been to raise significant amounts.

​Of course, space isn't defence, and even then, there is now a broader mandate at places like BDC to open up specifically to defence. That's also not speaking to the numerous defence VCs that have popped up over the last few months regarding defence, including the likes of Calian Ventures and Vimy Ridge, to name two of them.

​However, space has also been an industry that has really struggled to raise capital—especially for something like this. It's a testament to the fact that there is a renewed mentality about these kinds of efforts, backed obviously by government funding and a commitment to things like domestic launch.

​While we often say that government support is important for these kinds of industries to get the credibility they need to go and raise capital, it's another thing to see it working in action. It’s a good sign of the shifting mentalities that certain people have about funding these kinds of ventures. I, for one, welcome it with open arms, even if, on the more defence side of things, the fight is still ongoing to many degrees.

​It's quite clear that the company has something, considering the names attached to it. I am always interested in a potential new launch company, especially one like this coming out with both significant backing and a top-notch team behind it. I don't think it's the last company we will see like this popping up. I look back to Eliot and Dominion, who also had a similar jump back in from outside.

​That's just me rambling a bit. It’s nice to see, even if the old mentalities are still prevalent and the fight is ongoing. It’s kind of strange from my perspective. I’m outside the industry. I hear about it a lot because I’m friends with lots of people now who are going through this, but it feels very chaotic.

​A lot has changed in a short time, and things are coming quicker than many expect. A lot of new players are popping up, and a lot of people are struggling to adapt to the new reality. I’m not even involved; obviously, I gotta track trends and players, but it feels like a lot to me.

​I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by how things develop and how quickly things come. There will also be many who are not resilient coming into the scene who will feel the twist of the knife when the pendulum comes back and funding starts to dry up. Defence won't be a priority forever. That’s why it’s vital to act fast, to get things done. I think it will come quicker than many people I talk with realize.

​CRC, in this regard, represents the higher end of that spectrum of new players that have come to the space. Major backing, top talent, and many from here coming back to the Canadian system after making their money and talents from outside, primarily down south.

​Not every new company is like this; however, they do exist. They are out there. I know, and they are the ones I’m watching with a keen interest, especially coming into a space with established but still very much young players like Sovereign Launch. We have players like Reaction and Nordspace, but they are not firm in their positions.

​Maybe that's me being a bit of a showman, but I like the game. I like the competition. I like watching companies fight, especially one's with something to prove and a prize at the end. I like when there is no true establishment, as Canadians love, to hold down the mantle for themselves, be that one company or a group of them. It makes things fun, interesting.

​So impress me, CRC. Make my days interesting.