EnduroSat raised $205m for modular satellites

EnduroSat just raised $205m. The round was co-led by Riot Ventures and Atreides Management, LP, with Giant Ventures, Founders Fund, GV (Google Ventures), Lux Capital and others participating.

EnduroSat builds standardised, modular satellites designed to make access to space data significantly faster and cheaper. They have already delivered more than 200 satellites, with 103 in orbit.

Capital is moving down the space value chain

The bigger story, in my view, is what this says about the space market. Capital is moving further down the space value chain. We are seeing increasing capital flowing into:

• Satellite infrastructure

• Earth observation

• Defence and ISR

• Drones and autonomous systems

• Launch infrastructure

• Space-based communications

• Space data and analytics

The investor base is expanding with it

It is not just traditional aerospace investors anymore. We are seeing venture capital, deep-tech funds, defence investors, strategic corporates, family offices and larger institutional investors increasingly looking at companies operating across the space and defence ecosystem.

This creates an interesting dynamic. More investor appetite means more capital available, which means more companies able to scale, which means more demand for capital.

Why we are focused on it

This is also a space we are becoming increasingly focused on at Vantierr. We are seeing more founders coming to us looking to raise capital in the sector, while at the same time more investors are coming to us looking for opportunities across aerospace, defence, space and dual-use technology.

That alignment between increasing founder demand and increasing investor appetite is what makes the space particularly interesting for us.

The EnduroSat round is a good example of how much capital is now willing to back European space companies with the ambition and infrastructure to operate at global scale. Congratulations to Raycho Raychev and the entire EnduroSat team, and to Will Dufton for leading the investment for Giant Ventures.