ICEYE’s Series B funding round includes financial backing from previous investors True Ventures, Draper Nexus, Draper Associates, Seraphim Capital and Space Angels Network. The funding round is joined by new ICEYE investors OTB, Tesi, Draper Esprit and Promus Ventures. To date, ICEYE has raised a total of $53M, including government financing from Finland and the EU’s Horizon 2020 program.
“This funding secures our goal of deploying the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation before the end of next year,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder, ICEYE. “I’m most excited for our customers, who can now start to make their plans a reality.”
In January, ICEYE successfully completed a historic landmark in aerospace by becoming the first organization in the world to launch a SAR satellite with a launch mass of under 100kg. With darkness or clouds covering two-thirds of the planet at any given time, SAR technology delivers reliable imaging even when optical imaging cannot. Providing timely imaging data to both governments and commercial entities, ICEYE is helping its customers solve some of the world’s toughest challenges in sectors such as the maritime industry, disaster management, insurance, finance, security and intelligence.
“ICEYE is developing and deploying SAR satellite technology that has been dreamed about for decades, but which was thought to be impossible to deliver,” said Rohit Sharma, venture partner at True Ventures and ICEYE board member. “We are excited to accelerate our three-year-old partnership with ICEYE and lead their current round of financing as they continue to change the way Earth observation data is gathered, analyzed, and delivered.”
Following the January 2018 launch of ICEYE-X1, ICEYE is launching two additional satellites this year. ICEYE is aiming for a total of 9 upcoming satellite launches by the end of 2019 and is actively seeking out launch operators to continue the company’s rapid acceleration towards the future.
Jussi Sainiemi, Investment Director at Tesi, comments that “ICEYE’s technology enables high-grade and cost-efficient satellite imagery. It opens up new opportunities for innovative data usage never before viable with conventional satellite technology. The company has succeeded in attracting exceptionally high-profile talent as both owners and advisers. That in turn adds credibility to successful implementation of the company’s plans. We are very happy to be a part of ICEYE’s story.”
For more information, please contact:
Media Contact
Aubrey Lerche
Barokas PR for ICEYE
press@iceye.fi
Jussi Sainiemi, Investment Director, Tesi
+358 40 564 4660
jussi.sainiemi@tesi.fi
About ICEYE
ICEYE empowers others to make better decisions in governmental and commercial industries by providing access to timely and reliable satellite imagery. The company is tackling this crucial lack of actionable information with world-first aerospace capabilities and a New Space approach. ICEYE’s radar satellite imaging service, with coverage of selected areas every few hours, both day and night, helps clients resolve challenges in sectors such as maritime, disaster management, insurance, finance, security and intelligence. ICEYE is the first organization in the world to successfully launch synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites with a launch mass under 100 kg. For more information, please visit: www.iceye.com
About True Ventures
Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With more than $1.4 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A funding to the most talented entrepreneurs in today’s fastest growing markets. The firm maintains a strong community that supports founders and their teams, helping True companies achieve higher levels of success and impact. To date, True has helped more than 250 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 10,000 jobs worldwide. To learn more about True Ventures, visit www.trueventures.com.
About Tesi
Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a venture capital and private equity company that accelerates companies’ success stories by investing in them directly and via funds. Tesi always invests together with other investors, providing them with access to high quality deal-flow in Finland. Our investments under management total €1.2 billion and we have altogether 700 companies in portfolio. www.tesi.fi and @TesiFII