Open Cosmos raises $50 million to expand Earth observation satellite business

PARIS – Smallsat developer Open Cosmos has raised $50 million to expand the company and develop large satellites and satellites focused on Earth observation.

The company, based in the United Kingdom with offices in Spain and Portugal, announced on September 10 the Series B round. The round was led by ETF Partners, Trill Impact and A & G, three funds from “impact investors” that focus on companies that provide social benefits or natural. Several other investors also participated in this round.

The funding will help the 70-person company to expand internationally, including in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. It will allow it to expand its current satellite facilities, which have been cubeats, to large spacecraft and constellations. The company is also developing a satellite data analysis platform called DataCosmos.

“It’s important to us as a business to partner with investors who believe in our mission and align with our values ​​of using technology to solve the world’s most pressing problems and we’re excited to find that with ETF Partners, Trill Impact and A&G,” he said. Rafael Jorda Siquier, CEO and founder of Open Cosmos, in a statement. “This investment will drive us forward, allowing us to accelerate our growth, expand our capabilities and continue to deliver high-quality solutions.”

The company has launched several smallsats to date to support Earth observation, communications and navigation applications. Jorda Siquier said the company has five more satellites scheduled for launch next March, all 6U or 12U cubesats with a range of earth observation applications, from agriculture to disaster management.

The funding, he said, will help the company move into microsatellites. It will also support the development of OpenConstellation, what the company calls a “collaborative satellite infrastructure” where companies share capacity on their satellites with others.

“OpenConstellation is designed to enable organizations to share data generated by satellites to improve access to information on our planet to drive sustainability and impact,” he said. “By sharing space assets, we significantly reduce costs and simplify access to Earth observation data.”

Open Cosmos says it can stand out in the crowded Earth exploration sector with “high-cost end-to-end fully managed missions” for its customers, Jorda Siquier said. “We are proud of the old development, we can take different applications, and promote international cooperation.”

That argument won over investors who saw benefits in the company’s approach to collecting Earth observation data. “Through their innovative technology, Open Cosmos has proven that space is a critical resource for the continued health and prosperity of our planet,” said Patrick Sheehan, managing partner of ETF Partners, in a statement. “Open Cosmos is a perfect match for our values ​​and offers an exciting opportunity for a profitable investment in a strong and growing market.”

“Open Cosmos is a leader in providing multi-sensor location data at an affordable price and we consider it a pioneer in creating an app store-like analytics offering,” said Toba Spiegel, chief investment officer at Trill Impact, in a statement.

Prior to the Series B round, Open Cosmos had raised $7 million since its founding in 2015. The company said its revenue will double annually starting in 2020, but did not provide specific numbers. Jorda Siquier said the company has positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization from 2021.