A satellite technology company has secured £19 million investment from listed Seraphim Space Investment Trust.
ICEYE Oy, billed as a global leader in synthetic aperture radar satellite imaging technology, will significantly expand its constellation with the proceeds.
Seraphim Space LP first invested in ICEYE in 2017, prior to it launching its first satellite, and has participated in every subsequent ICEYE funding round.
ICEYE has since deployed the world’s first and largest constellation of miniaturised satellites that use radar to image the Earth day and night, even through clouds.
ICEYE’s radar technology has the ability to monitor change in near real time with unrivaled sensitivity and at global scale. The unique insights this data provides holds enormous potential to help combat some of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change.
For example, ICEYE’s data is used by customers, including governments, to track illegal deforestation in the Amazon, and insurance companies to respond quickly to natural disasters such as floods.
Following today’s announcement, and as set out at the time of SSIT’s IPO, the company now expects to complete the acquisition of Seraphim Space LP’s shareholding in ICEYE.
As part of the transaction, James Bruegger, chief investment officer of Seraphim Space (Manager) LLP, SSIT’s investment manager, has been appointed to the ICEYE board.
“ICEYE is a very exciting business. With its large and growing constellation of new space satellites, it is able to identify and monitor changes on Earth in the range of millimetres,” said Will Whitehorn, chair of Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc.
“This enables entirely new applications, including predicting, preventing and responding to events such as natural disasters, building collapses and floods. It is another excellent example of how Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc is backing businesses with exciting technologies allowing us to unlock science that has never been possible before.”
Bruegger added: “The doubling down on our investment in ICEYE reflects our belief in the potential this breakthrough technology will have across maritime, disaster management, insurance, finance, security and intelligence sectors.
“Life on earth is constantly changing. The ability to see and track these changes is key to understanding, predicting and responding to events around us. Satellites that use optical cameras to take images of the Earth have in recent decades spawned the $5 billion ‘Earth Observation’ market.
“By using ICEYE radars rather than cameras to take images, it is possible to monitor the Earth, day and night, in all weather conditions and in near real time. This is a real game changer.”