Satellites have become a critical (and sometimes the only) way to send communications and receive data about certain locations around the world, a position of power that can be heroic but also mature for abuse and that's before considering how their presence contributes to the growing problem of space junk.
The UK startup Open Cosmos which is building what it describes as “sustainable” low-Earth orbit satellites and an end-to-end system to manage the data collected through them, has raised $50 million aimed at further democratizing access through a platform that It allows multiple organizations using single satellites, or more typically, a constellation of satellites, if they wish to share the data they collect with each other.
The company, co-founded by three aerospace engineers from Spain, has been around since 2015 and caught the industry's attention from the beginning when it managed to assemble and launch its first LEO satellite on a shoestring budget, especially because of how much capital and operational spending goes into it. typically to aerospace work and the outsize budgets that organizations need to get a seat at the table for using satellite data. Today, the startup works with major space agencies, as well as companies such as Amazon (specifically AWS) and the engineering, systems and security company RHEA Group, agribusiness companies such as Lacuna Space among others.
While its platform, hardware and systems could technically be used for a wide variety of applications, Open Cosmos' focus is on energy and climate monitoring, said CEO Rafel Jorda Siquier.
"We only provide those who want to be good actors in those areas," he said in an interview. The satellites themselves eventually degrade and fragment as they re-enter the atmosphere, leaving virtually no residue.
The funding is notable for several other reasons, including the investors involved and the broader context for funding in areas such as deep tech and space technology.
ETF Partners, Trillimpact y A & G (three sponsors focused on impact investing) are leading the round, with several interesting strategies involved, including Accenture Ventures, Banco Santander/InnoEnergy Climate Tech Fund (the financial group acquired a stake in the latter), IREON, Wille Finance, Claret Capital Partners and none other than InQTel, the investment arm of the CIA. Entrepreneurs-turned-investors Taavet Hinrikus and Kheng Nam Lee also participated in the round. That list of sponsors speaks to who might already be working with Open Cosmos, as well as the opportunities they might have in the future.
As an example of this, Accenture said today that its investment is part of a partnership it is forming with Open Cosmos to implement and execute data projects for Accenture clients, particularly with a focus on sustainability.
This investment also stands out given the current climate for initial investment.
Funding for startups continues to be limited, and in Europe specifically, in the second quarter of this year, the amount invested in startups was half that of the previous year, according to figures from Crunchbase published at the end of August.
Artificial intelligence is a prominent and in-demand category that continues to stand out at the moment, but the picture has been very mixed for space technology, which is on the rise in late 2022 but still well below the highs of previous years.
In fact, a new on why funding for space technology increased 120% in the first half of 2023 compared to the last half of 2022, it was not due to a sudden interest or recovery in the funding landscape, but because many founders delayed the fundraising rounds in 2022 that have had no choice but to raise funds. And some have gotten deals, albeit at lower valuations or for lower amounts.
The $50 million from Open Cosmos also represents a big leap for the startup itself: it is more than 7 times the amount it had raised in previous years.
Jorda Siquier, who co-founded the company with Aleix Megias Homar (VP of Operations) and Jordi Barrera Ars (VP of Technology), declined to give any indication about the company's current valuation before or after this latest investment.
But in some context, it has been very complex, especially for a hardware startup: the startup had raised only about $7 million in total, and while pitchbook Estimated at its previous valuation to be a modest $36 million, it has been Ebitda positive since 2020, meaning it is operationally profitable (but has not yet reached full profitability). All of that points to a company that investors might consider less risky to back right now.
This is especially interesting given Open Cosmos' current market opportunity: the company's focus right now is on applications in areas such as climate and agriculture, specifically with an eye toward sustainability and projects that help promote it. This would leave the company far removed from communications and data connectivity for other types of uses and users, although it could be said that even sustainability is a critical geopolitical category, considering that organizations such as NATO (and the United States government States, and others like them) are now investing in startups that can help states become more independent when it comes to public services and resources. It also does not rule out what and how Open Cosmos could be developed in the future, and for whom.
This alone can be a huge area, covering data that would otherwise be difficult to measure in categories such as illicit (or simply ignored) deforestation projects, greenhouse gas development, tracking the progress of the polar ice caps. and sea level, as well as ocean currents. — which covers about 54 climate variables in total. Satellites also play a crucial role in relief efforts in the event of natural or other disasters. Open Cosmos, citing Allied Market Research estimates that the growing demand for data about Earth's orbit is a market segment that will be worth $11.300 billion by 2031.
“Space data has always been an important means of understanding planet Earth, but only thanks to its increasing affordability, the amplifying effects of climate change, and the increasing number of AI/ML solutions that extract insights from this data, the market is now becoming more competitive. ready to reach its full potential,” Toba Spiegel, investment manager at Trill Impact, said in a statement. “Open Cosmos is the leader in providing multi-sensor spatial data at an affordable cost and the first to create an app store-like analytics offering.”
"Open Cosmos has demonstrated not only its unique end-to-end technologies, as seen in its organic growth and financial stability, but the team is in a strong position to take the company to the next level," added Juan Diego Bernal, managing Director. A&G Energy Transition Technology Fund said we look forward to working with the team to take advantage of these market opportunities and solidify its position as a leader in the energy sector. space technology and take advantage of its cutting-edge technology to boost the Energy Transition for a better world.
