漢堡 MuRay 為火箭引擎繆子成像技術籌得 €7.1M

Hamburg startup MuRay has raised €7.1M to look inside dense metal parts, such as 3D-printed rocket engines and gas turbines. It does this with muons, tiny particles that pass through materials that block X-rays.

The total combines a €3.5M private round with €3.6M in public funding, including a grant from the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme.

First Momentum Ventures led the private round, co-led by Caelora, a laser company that spun out of German fusion startup Marvel Fusion this year.

Superangel VC, Nordic Science Investments, Mätch VC, Arcas VC and Tiny VC also took part, MuRay said.

X-rays can only get through a few centimetres of steel. Muons, by contrast, can pass through more than a metre of steel and other dense metals, according to the company.

MuRay generates a controlled beam of them and uses its own detectors and AI software to build 3D images of what is inside a part.

The company says its method can also tell apart materials that look the same on an X-ray, while exposing the part to less radiation. It aims to let manufacturers check parts for hidden flaws while they are still on the production line, with scans taking minutes rather than hours.

“X-rays reach their limit at a few centimetres of steel, yet much of modern industry, from reusable rockets to gas turbines, is built from metal far thicker than that,” said Andi Hektor, MuRay’s co-founder and co-CEO.

MuRay grew out of DESY, the German particle physics research centre in Hamburg. Co-founder and co-CEO Kristjan Põder led DESY’s work on laser-plasma accelerators for industrial and medical use, while Hektor previously co-founded GScan, which uses naturally occurring muons to scan large structures.

The pair launched the company in 2025 and came out of stealth that November with €325,000 in early funding.

“This funding will help us continue proving the physics whilst delivering our first service to industrial customers,” said Põder.

MuRay plans to open its first imaging service for industrial customers in 2027, using DESY’s existing electron beam in Hamburg. Its first full-scale system, powered by a compact laser-driven accelerator, is due in 2029.

With the German Space Agency at DLR, it has modelled how to inspect a rocket engine. It plans its first real engine test in 2027, as demand for space hardware grows. The company is also in talks with international ports about using the technology to spot nuclear materials in cargo.

The company, which also has a branch in Tallinn, plans to grow to about 25 staff by the end of 2027. It is now hiring seven physicists and engineers in Hamburg, including founding leads for its AI and muon source teams.