MuRay Banks €7.1M to Put Muon Imaging Inside a Shipping Container

Hamburg-based MuRay has raised €7.1 million in combined private and public financing to commercialize its Active Muon Imaging technology for industrial inspection.

The package splits into two roughly equal halves. A €3.5 million venture round was led by First Momentum Ventures and co-led by Caelora, a subsidiary of Marvel Fusion, with participation from Superangel, Mätch VC, Arcas VC, Tiny VC and Nordic Science Investments. On top of that, MuRay secured €3.6 million in non-dilutive public funding, including an EU Horizon Europe grant — meaning the startup doubled its cash without doubling its dilution.

What does the money buy?

Three things, per the company: faster commercialization of its industrial material imaging technology, a mobile imaging system configured within a shipping container for on-site inspections, and a larger engineering team.

The shipping-container system is the concrete bet. Instead of hauling rocket engines or turbine components to a fixed scanning facility, MuRay wants to drive the scanner to the part. That reframes muon imaging from a lab service into field equipment for plants, ports and test stands.

Who is behind MuRay?

Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Dr. Andi Hektor and Dr. Kristjan Põder lead the company. MuRay develops what it describes as safe, rapid and accurate active muon imaging solutions for three markets: industrial quality assessment, security and customs inspection, and medical diagnostics.

The platform stacks three technologies:

• laser-plasma-accelerator-driven muon sources
• next-generation particle detectors
• AI for high-resolution 3D imaging with automated decision-making

Muon imaging works where X-rays and ultrasound struggle — thick, dense metal. MuRay's initial technology and business focus targets quality and safety assessment of critical metallic and ceramic components: rocket engines, gas turbines, jet engines, and large-scale nuclear or industrial systems. The customer set follows that focus, with main development partners spanning the energy, defence, aerospace and security industries.

The company runs a two-site operation: DESY, the particle accelerator center in Hamburg, Germany, and Tehnopol, a science and business campus in Tallinn, Estonia. That footprint keeps MuRay close to both the accelerator physics it depends on and the engineering talent it now plans to hire.

Why does the investor mix matter?

Deep-tech hardware companies burn cash long before revenue, and €3.5 million alone wouldn't stretch far in a capital-intensive field like accelerator-driven imaging. The €3.6 million in grants — led by the EU's Horizon Europe program — effectively doubles the runway without touching founder or investor equity stakes.

The co-lead by Caelora, a Marvel Fusion subsidiary, also signals strategic alignment. Marvel Fusion works in laser-driven fusion, the same laser-plasma acceleration physics family that powers MuRay's muon sources — an investor that understands the core technology, not just the market.

For First Momentum Ventures, the lead check extends a pattern of backing early-stage European deep tech. The syndicate's breadth — spanning German, Baltic and Nordic funds — gives MuRay networks across the regions where its energy, defence and aerospace partners operate.

The near-term test is execution: turning a €7.1 million war chest into a container-sized scanner that industrial customers will actually pay to roll onto their sites.