Open Cosmos, a UK-based satellite startup, has secured $50 million in funding to further its mission of making access to satellite technology more accessible and sustainable. The company, founded in 2015 by three aerospace engineers, specializes in building low-earth orbit satellites and developing an end-to-end system for managing the data collected by these satellites.
Key Takeaway
Open Cosmos, a UK-based satellite startup, has raised $50 million in funding to democratize access to sustainable satellite technology. The company’s platform enables collaborative satellite usage, allowing multiple organizations to share data and resources. With a focus on sustainability and applications in climate and agriculture, Open Cosmos is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for space data.
Enabling Collaborative Satellite Usage
Open Cosmos has developed a platform that allows multiple organizations to utilize a single satellite or a constellation of satellites. This shared approach promotes collaboration and the sharing of data among different entities. The startup’s focus is on energy and climate monitoring, with an emphasis on working with companies and agencies that prioritize sustainability.
CEO Rafel Jorda Siquier stated, “We only provide to those who want to be good actors in those domains.” Notably, the satellites deployed by Open Cosmos eventually degrade and disintegrate upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, leaving no debris behind.
Impact Investment and Strategic Partnerships
The $50 million funding round was led by impact investors ETF Partners, Trill Impact, and A&G. A number of strategic investors also participated, including Accenture Ventures, Banco Santander/InnoEnergy Climate Tech Fund, and the CIA’s investment arm, InQTel. The involvement of these investors demonstrates the growing interest in space tech and its potential for sustainable solutions.
Open Cosmos has already formed partnerships with various organizations, and Accenture announced that its investment in the startup will be used to implement and run data projects for Accenture customers, with a particular focus on sustainability.
Opportunities and Growth Potential
The $50 million funding round is significant for Open Cosmos, especially in the current startup funding landscape, which remains constrained. Space tech funding saw a 120% increase in the first half of 2023 compared to the last half of 2022, potentially due to founders who delayed fundraising in 2022 now seeking investment. Open Cosmos’s funding is more than seven times the amount it had raised prior to this round.
With its focus on sustainability and applications in areas such as climate and agriculture, Open Cosmos is positioned to tap into a market that is estimated to be worth $11.3 billion by 2031. The company’s technology and approach to satellite usage uniquely position it to enable greater access to space data, bolstering efforts in climate monitoring, disaster relief, and other critical areas.
