British satellite maker Open Cosmos has raised 300 million euros to expand its manufacturing and build out services that turn data gathered in orbit into near real time intelligence. The company, which designs and operates small satellites, said the money would support faster production and a larger workforce. The round was led by the investment firm Lightrock and marks one of the larger recent funding events for a European space company.
Open Cosmos operates four factories across the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Greece, and said the combined capacity allows it to produce as many as one satellite per day. Rafel Jorda Siquier, the founder and chief executive, has built the business around the idea that governments and companies increasingly want their own access to space rather than relying on a small number of large operators to supply imagery and connectivity.
The funding will support three lines of work. OpenConstellation lets customers share Earth observation infrastructure instead of each launching separate fleets. ConnectedCosmos focuses on broadband communications from orbit. DataCosmos applies artificial intelligence to process the images and readings that satellites collect. The company said its newest generation of spacecraft can cut the time between capturing information and delivering it from around 48 hours to 30 minutes, using onboard processing and links between satellites.
Alongside Lightrock, the round drew backing from ETF Partners, Institut Catala de Finances, Entrepreneurs First, Trill Impact, Convex Group, Phoenix Court, Claret Capital Partners and the UK National Security Strategic Investment Fund, as well as two international pension funds. The mix of private and state connected investors reflects growing interest in space as both a commercial market and a question of national resilience for governments that want secure data of their own.
The company said it had secured customer contracts worth 370 million dollars over three and a half years. Demand for Earth observation has climbed as agriculture, defence, insurance and climate monitoring lean more heavily on frequent and detailed views of the planet. Open Cosmos said the new capital would let it meet those orders while widening the range of services it offers to public and private clients across Europe and beyond.
