Nordic Science Investments and Superangel participates in MuRay’s €7.1M funding round
MuRay, a deep tech company that uses muon beams to see inside dense industrial components, has raised €7.1 million in funding.
The funding includes a €3.5 million private round led by First Momentum Ventures and co-led by Caelora, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel Fusion. Superangel, Mätch VC, Arcas VC and Tiny VC also joined the round, alongside a follow-on investment from Nordic Science Investments (NSI). MuRay also received €3.6 million in non-dilutive public funding, including a grant from the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
MuRay was founded by Dr Andi Hektor and Dr Kristjan Põder, who lead the company as co-CEOs. NSI was MuRay’s first investor: it backed the founders at the inception stage in July 2025, before MuRay was even a company.
Manufacturers of safety-critical parts such as 3D-printed rocket engines and gas turbine components need to find hidden internal defects. X-rays can’t help with large metal parts, because they only get through a few centimetres of steel. MuRay solves this with controlled muon beams, which pass through much denser material. Its system produces high-resolution 3D images of components made from metals, ceramics and composites, and it can complete an inspection in minutes rather than hours. It also uses a significantly lower radiation dose than conventional X-ray methods. Together with the German Space Agency at DLR, MuRay has modelled the inspection of a rocket engine, and it plans its first real-world assessment in 2027.
“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. Active muon imaging lets manufacturers see inside those large, dense components,” said Dr Andi Hektor, co-founder and co-CEO of MuRay.
“Defects that manufacturers can’t see keep parts out of service for longer than they should be. Our technology helps them find those defects and get components back into service faster,” added Dr Kristjan Põder, co-founder and co-CEO.
The new funding will go towards:
- further technology development
- a mobile imaging system about the size of a shipping container, for inspections directly at industrial sites
- a first imaging service for industrial customers in 2027, using DESY’s existing electron beam in Hamburg together with MuRay’s own imaging system
- a first full-scale system with a laser-driven accelerator in 2029
Beyond manufacturing, MuRay is exploring uses in space, aerospace, defence, energy and cargo security, such as detecting nuclear materials inside dense cargo. As industry builds more reusable rockets and high-performance engines, being able to see inside dense parts could shorten maintenance cycles and get critical components back into service sooner.
