The Helsinki based satellite startup announced on Tuesday that a 74 million euro funding had come its way via return investors True Ventures and OTB Ventures. This will help ICEYE launch four additional SAR satellites this year and further eight in 2021.
The SAR is short for Synthetic Sperture Radar, a technology that the Finns are world-leading in. ICEYE launched in 2018 and has during its years of operation included many world-first achievements for small SAR satellites. For example, the satellites can offer 0,25-meter resolution video and image data from above, and also put forward updates four times a day. This revolutionary up-close access can be used for saving lives during humanitarian and disaster response situations, such as fires, climate-driven changes in weather or even urban activities.
— ICEYE is enabling others to solve immeasurably difficult problems that affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Our team has built a reputation for delivering results to our customers with unmatched timeliness and quality of service. We are proud of that reputation, and we intend to maintain it. This round of investment ensures our SAR satellite constellation will reach a size of at least 12 satellites in 2021, guaranteeing 4 times a day revisit rate globally, said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE.
See some of the amazing captures from the Finnish satellites below, taken in pitch-black night hours. From left to right: Antarctica, Ganges river in India, Mount Taranaki in New Zealand.