Telesat, the Canadian satellite operator, has announced the completion of government funding for its Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite constellation. The investment agreements are with the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec. The company said it now has all financing sources in place to fund the Lightspeed network. This includes the satellites, launch vehicles to deploy ...
Finance
ATLAS Space Operations raises $15m growth investment
ATLAS Space Operations has raised $15 million in an investment round led by NewSpace Capital, a space-focused private equity firm. Existing investors – including Michigan Capital Network, Beringea, Wakestream Ventures and Boomerang Catapult – participated in the funding round. As did new investors Michigan Rise and Red Cedar Ventures. The investment will be used to meet industry demand and manage ...
AstroForge raises Series A for asteroid mining
AstroForge, the asteroid mining startup, has raised $40 million in Series A funding to “unlock a cost-effective and sustainable mining solution”. The company’s aim is to establish an untapped supply chain of raw materials for use on Earth. The funding round was led by Nova Threshold with participation from 776, Initialized, Caladan, YC, Uncorrelated Ventures and Jed McCaleb. It brings ...
Synopsys posts 13% revenue increase for Q3
EDA tool and semiconductor IP company, Synopsys, has announced revenue of $1.526bn for Q3 2024, up approximately 13% from Q3 2023. The company also announced it is expecting record full-year revenue with around 15% growth. Reflecting on the results, Sassine Ghazi, Synopsys’ president and CEO attributed a lot of growth to the increased use of AI. “The complexity and pace ...
Astroscale secures funding for Final Phase of ELSA-M In-Orbit demo
Astroscale, a specialist in space debris removal, has secured finding to complete the Final Phase of ELSA-M. This is an in-orbit demonstration of space debris removal. Specifically, Astroscale UK – a subsidiary of Japan-based Astroscale Holdings – will receive £11.78 from the UK Space Agency and ESA. ELSA-M stands for End-of-Life by Astroscale-Multiple. Sunrise The funding was released following the ...
UK AI chip company exits stealth mode, raises $15m seed funding
Fractile, a UK company building an AI chip, has exited stealth and announced $15m (£12m) in seed funding. The round was co-led by Kindred Capital, NATO Innovation Fund, and Oxford Science Enterprises, with participation from Cocoa and Inovia Capital, together with angel investors including Hermann Hauser (co-founder, Acorn, Amadeus Capital), Stan Boland (ex-Icera, NVIDIA, Element 14 and Five AI), and ...
Sift raises $17.5m Series A for hardware sensor data platform
Sift, a startup providing an “observability platform” for hardware sensor data, has raised $17.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Google Ventures and brings Sift’s total funding to $25 million. The investment will be used to increase its staff, build up its infrastructure and add AI/ML capabilities, said the company. Based in El Segundo, California, Sift ...
NATO Innovation Fund backs Isar Aerospace in extended Series C
The Munich-based satellite launch service company Isar Aerospace has extended its Series C funding round by €65m – it now totals €220m ($230m) – with backing from the NATO Innovation Fund. “Access to space is critical to the technological sovereignty of Europe and the UK,” said Andrea Traversone, Managing Partner of the NATO Innovation Fund. “Space technologies like Isar’s hold ...
Synspective raises $43.5m Series C for SAR satellite constellation
Synspective, the Tokyo based SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite data specialist, has raised ¥7 billion ($43.5 million) in a Series C funding round. The company says it will use the new capital to develop, manufacture, launch, and operate the SAR satellites for its constellation. It will also prepare mass production facilities, develop its satellite data systems, and look to expand ...
AFWERX funds LeoLabs radar tech for security in space
LeoLabs has been has been selected by AFWERX to develop next-generation radar technology to counter security threats in space. The SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Phase II contract is worth $1.2 million. AFWERX – part of the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) and working with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – is described as an innovation programme, ...