Earth observation funding: where is the money going?

All funding deals in the Earth observation market over the last 24 months

Below is the table listing all the deals. You can find our methodology at the end of this page.

If you want a deeper understanding of the market and its current dynamics, get our report covering the Earth observation market.

Is the Earth observation funding market actually healthier than a year ago?

Earth observation funding is in better shape than a year ago, especially for established companies, but the recovery is much less impressive once we look beyond the biggest deals.

Over the latest 12 months, we counted 35 financing rounds, up from 29 in the previous period. The number of funded companies increased from 27 to 31, and the median reported round climbed from $5.75 million to $10.5 million.

The headline capital increase looks spectacular: approximately $1.56 billion compared with $283.4 million, a 449.7% jump. But seven rounds above $50 million accounted for almost four-fifths of that total. Remove those transactions, and funding grew by only 15%.

First financings remained at seven, while follow-on rounds increased from 22 to 28. All six additional transactions involved companies that had already raised money.

The market has become better at financing companies through their next stages of growth, particularly operational satellite businesses serving defense, intelligence, and other customers that need reliable Earth observation data. The early-stage pipeline hasn't grown at the same pace.

Funding indicator	Latest 12 months	Previous 12 months	Change
Funding rounds	35	29	+20.7%
Unique funded companies	31	27	+14.8%
Reported capital	$1,557.9M	$283.4M	+449.7%
Capital excluding rounds above $50M	$325.9M	$283.4M	+15.0%
Median reported round	$10.50M	$5.75M	+82.6%
First financings	7	7	Unchanged
Follow-on financings	28	22	+27.3%
Later-stage share, including growth equity	37.1%	24.1%	+13.0 pp

Would Earth observation funding still look strong without the biggest rounds?

Earth observation funding would still be growing without its biggest deals, although the increase would be fairly modest compared with the headline numbers.

Our calculations show that reported capital rose from $283.4 million to $1.56 billion. Excluding financings above $50 million leaves $325.9 million, just 15% more than a year earlier.

Seven large transactions brought in approximately $1.23 billion. Those transactions explain almost the entire increase in reported capital.

Using a higher cutoff changes the picture. Removing rounds strictly above $100 million leaves $557.9 million, almost twice the previous period's total. That calculation retains Pixxel's financing of exactly $100 million. Excluding the three largest financings leaves approximately $688.5 million, still more than double the earlier figure.

The largest transaction was ICEYE's $520 million primary equity raise, representing 33.4% of all reported capital. The three largest financings together accounted for 55.8%, compared with 32.9% in the previous period.

Are more Earth observation startups actually getting funded?

Earth observation funding is reaching more companies, but the increase is relatively small compared with the growth in total capital.

We identified 31 funded businesses in the latest period, compared with 27 previously. That's a 14.8% increase, against a 20.7% increase in the number of rounds.

Part of the difference comes from companies raising more than once. Four businesses recorded multiple financings during the latest 12 months, compared with two in the preceding period. The share of funded companies with repeated transactions rose from 7.4% to 12.9%.

Tomorrow.io offers a good example. The weather intelligence company announced $175 million in February 2026, then added $35 million in May, bringing its Series F to $210 million. Those were separate capital commitments within the same fundraising process, rather than investments in two different businesses.

Pixxel shows another pattern. The company raised $100 million in its Series C after recording a $24 million Series B during the previous comparison period. An existing funded company had moved toward a much larger financing as its operations developed.

Are investors still backing new Earth observation startups?

Investors are still financing new Earth observation startups, but the number receiving their first recorded investment has stopped growing.

Our research identified seven first financings in each 12-month period. Their share of total deals fell from 24.1% to 20%, entirely because financing activity increased elsewhere.

Seed rounds also declined, from 15 to 11, while Series A rounds increased from two to six.

Investors haven't abandoned young companies, and the increase in Series A transactions suggests some are successfully progressing beyond their initial financing. But we're not seeing a comparable increase in businesses entering the funded startup population.

That could become a problem if the pattern continues. Earth observation needs new companies developing sensors, software, data products, and specialized applications. A market dominated by follow-on financing can produce stronger established businesses while leaving fewer opportunities for new competitors.

Are Earth observation investors taking fewer risks now?

Earth observation investors are putting more money into established businesses, although Series A activity shows that early-stage funding hasn't disappeared.

The shift in financing stages is pronounced. Seed rounds fell from 15 to 11, Series A rounds increased from two to six, and Series D+ financings rose from zero to five.

Later-stage rounds, counting Series B and beyond alongside identified growth equity, accounted for 37.1% of recent transactions, up from 24.1%.

ICEYE's $520 million Series F shows the kind of opportunity attracting large investors. By the time the company announced the financing, it had developed a commercial radar satellite constellation, signed sovereign intelligence contracts, and demonstrated demand from government customers.

Tomorrow.io followed a similar path in weather intelligence. Before its $175 million February financing, the company had completed the first phase of its satellite constellation and developed an operational forecasting platform.

Funding stage	Latest rounds	Previous rounds
Seed	11	15
Series A	6	2
Series B	7	6
Series C	1	0
Series D+	5	0
Growth Equity	0	1
Unknown	5	5
Total	35	29

Are $100 million Earth observation funding rounds becoming normal?

Nine-figure Earth observation rounds are becoming much more common, although they still represent a small minority of financings.

We recorded five transactions worth at least $100 million in the latest period, compared with none in the previous 12 months. The median reported financing also increased 82.6%, reaching $10.5 million.

At the smaller end, remarkably little changed. Rounds below $5 million numbered 13 versus 11 previously, accounting for roughly 37% to 38% of transactions in both periods.

The biggest change happened further up the funding ladder. The $5 million to under $20 million category declined from 13 rounds to seven, while seven transactions exceeded $50 million.

ICEYE's $520 million financing, Tomorrow.io's $175 million initial Series F, and Pixxel's $100 million Series C show how much money selected companies can now attract.

A startup developing a specialized analytics product may still raise a few million dollars, while a satellite provider with major government contracts can raise hundreds of millions.

Deal size	Latest rounds	Previous rounds
Under $5M	13	11
$5M–under $20M	7	13
$20M–under $50M	7	5
$50M–under $100M	2	0
$100M or more	5	0
Undisclosed	1	0
Total rounds	35	29

Is ICEYE carrying the entire Earth observation funding boom?

ICEYE is responsible for an enormous share of the Earth observation funding increase, but several other companies have also attracted unusually large investments.

The Finnish satellite intelligence company raised €450 million, approximately $520 million, in primary equity in June 2026. General Atlantic led the Series F, with investors including Nokia, Qatar Investment Authority, TCV, and several Finnish institutions.

The financing valued ICEYE above €10 billion. The company also announced a larger transaction exceeding €1 billion when secondary share purchases were included. Our funding calculations use the primary equity amount, since money paid to existing shareholders doesn't finance the company's operations.

The database also records an earlier $175 million ICEYE financing within the latest comparison period. Together, the two transactions represent approximately $695 million.

ICEYE's access to capital becomes easier to understand when we examine what the company has been selling.

In October 2025, Japan's IHI agreed to procure four ICEYE radar satellites, with an option for another 20. Sweden signed a sovereign intelligence contract in January 2026, and Portugal expanded its satellite procurement in June.

These agreements give investors something tangible to evaluate: customers buying satellite systems and intelligence capabilities, supported by an operational business.

ICEYE's scale is exceptional, but the development extends beyond one company. Tomorrow.io secured a $210 million expanded Series F, Pixxel attracted $100 million, and Xoople recorded a $130 million financing in our research.

Why is radar satellite funding growing so quickly?

Synthetic aperture radar is attracting more Earth observation investment because governments increasingly want reliable surveillance capabilities that work through clouds and darkness.

SAR funding rounds increased from four to seven, making it one of the strongest categories by transaction growth. ICEYE's major financings also gave radar an outsized share of reported capital.

The technology has a practical advantage over conventional optical imaging. Radar satellites can capture useful imagery regardless of daylight or cloud cover, which is valuable for military intelligence, maritime surveillance, disaster response, and monitoring infrastructure.

Recent procurement agreements show how that capability translates into demand. Governments are buying dedicated satellite systems and sovereign intelligence services, rather than relying entirely on imagery supplied by commercial constellations.

ICEYE's contracts in Japan, Sweden, and Portugal are prominent examples. The increase from four to seven funding rounds also suggests that investor interest in SAR extends beyond its largest operator, even if the capital remains heavily concentrated.

Is geospatial analytics attracting more investors than satellite hardware?

Geospatial analytics has become the busiest Earth observation funding category by deal count, with more financing activity than any individual satellite sensing segment.

We counted 15 analytics rounds in the latest period, up from 10. That five-deal increase was the largest absolute gain among the categories we tracked.

Geospatial analytics companies can build applications using existing satellite imagery, machine learning, and other location-based datasets. Many don't need to manufacture or operate their own spacecraft.

That opens up opportunities in agriculture, insurance, infrastructure monitoring, logistics, and government intelligence, where customers want answers rather than large quantities of raw satellite imagery.

Satellite hardware remains essential. Without radar, optical, thermal, and other sensors, there would be no observations to analyze. But software allows companies to focus on particular customer problems without taking on the full cost of building a constellation.

The distinction is between deal activity and capital. Geospatial analytics leads in financing count, while satellite operators can raise much larger individual rounds.

Is hyperspectral satellite funding drying up?

Hyperspectral imaging has suffered the sharpest decline in Earth observation financing activity, even though Pixxel secured one of the year's largest rounds.

We recorded seven hyperspectral financings in the previous period and only one in the latest 12 months. That single transaction was Pixxel's $100 million Series C.

The Indian company announced the financing in September 2026, with Temasek and Seraphim as co-leads. Its expansion plans reveal a broader strategy.

Pixxel intends to move beyond hyperspectral imaging into synthetic aperture radar, ultra-high-resolution optical sensing, Earth intelligence software, and sovereign satellite systems. Its Aurora platform is central to how the company plans to turn satellite observations into useful products.

Pixxel had already deployed six Firefly satellites and secured a US National Reconnaissance Office contract to demonstrate hyperspectral capabilities before the financing.

Those achievements help explain its ability to attract substantial investment. Yet the $100 million round shouldn't obscure the sharp drop in hyperspectral financing activity across the wider market.

Which parts of Earth observation are gaining the most momentum?

Geospatial analytics and synthetic aperture radar are the two clearest winners in Earth observation funding, while hyperspectral imaging has lost substantial ground.

Analytics gained five financings, reaching 15, and SAR added three to reach seven. Both categories increased their deal counts, although the capital going into radar was far more heavily influenced by exceptionally large rounds.

Atmospheric and weather sensing also improved, from one transaction to three. Tomorrow.io accounts for an important part of that activity.

Other categories experienced smaller changes. Thermal infrared imaging remained at five rounds, while optical imaging and RF geolocation each increased by one.

Funding is gathering around technologies that support intelligence, monitoring, and operational decisions. The business models differ considerably, though: geospatial analytics attracts more transactions, while companies building specialized satellite infrastructure capture the largest checks.

Category	Latest rounds	Previous rounds	Change
Geospatial Analytics	15	10	+5
Synthetic Aperture Radar	7	4	+3
Atmospheric & Weather Sensing	3	1	+2
Optical Imaging	2	1	+1
RF Geolocation	2	1	+1
Thermal Infrared Imaging	5	5	0
Hyperspectral Imaging	1	7	−6
Total	35	29	+6

Is Tomorrow.io turning weather satellites into a serious investment business?

Tomorrow.io is showing that investors will finance large commercial weather satellite systems when the company can demonstrate useful data and a business built around it.

The company raised $175 million in February 2026, led by Stonecourt Capital and HarbourVest, to accelerate its DeepSky constellation. A further $35 million investment from Pitango and Harel Insurance followed in May, bringing the Series F total to $210 million.

The fundraising came after an important technical milestone.

In January 2026, Tomorrow.io announced that its first satellite constellation had achieved a 60-minute global revisit rate. Its microwave sounders provide frequent atmospheric observations that can help improve weather forecasts.

The company also reported positive findings from NOAA's evaluation of its satellite data. Those results provided external technical evidence that the observations could support serious forecasting applications.

Tomorrow.io combines satellite infrastructure, weather models, and software that helps customers make operational decisions. Its applications extend into industries where storms, temperature changes, and other weather risks have direct financial consequences.

The wider weather sensing category remains small, with just three recorded financings. Tomorrow.io demonstrates that substantial investment is possible, but more companies need to raise money before this becomes a broad-based weather satellite funding boom.

Is Europe overtaking the US in Earth observation funding?

Europe and Asia-Pacific now record more Earth observation financing rounds than North America, although individual large transactions make regional capital comparisons less straightforward.

The latest period included 13 rounds in Europe, 13 in Asia-Pacific, and seven in North America. Previously, Europe recorded 11, Asia-Pacific eight, and North America eight. Two rounds in each period were not consistently assigned to these three regions.

Asia-Pacific therefore delivered the largest increase in deal activity, adding five financings.

Pixxel's $100 million Series C highlights the development of substantial Earth observation businesses in India. Its expansion into satellite manufacturing, advanced sensing, and intelligence software also shows how regional companies are moving beyond narrow technology offerings.

Europe benefits from a different combination of strengths. ICEYE's large financing, sovereign intelligence contracts, and satellite manufacturing operations make the region particularly important for capital-intensive radar businesses.

North America remains a major commercial market, as shown by Tomorrow.io's weather intelligence business and the involvement of US institutional investors in leading global transactions.

There is one classification issue worth mentioning. Hydrosat has been recorded with both US and Luxembourg headquarters in the funding records, so regional boundaries aren't perfectly consistent.

Are corporate investors getting more involved in Earth observation?

Corporate and strategic investors are appearing more often in Earth observation deals, especially where satellite technology has a direct connection to defense, insurance, or infrastructure.

We identified seven recent financings with explicitly recorded strategic-investor participation, compared with three in the previous period.

ICEYE's June 2026 Series F included Nokia alongside General Atlantic, Qatar Investment Authority, and other institutional investors.

Tomorrow.io's May financing extension brought in Harel Insurance alongside Pitango, connecting a weather intelligence business with investors familiar with financial exposure to climate and weather risks.

Pixxel's September Series C also attracted a mix of institutional and specialist space investors, including Temasek and Seraphim.

Earth observation is attracting capital from companies with direct business interests in the technology, not just traditional venture funds. The count is limited to disclosed participation, however. Lead investors were identified for 22 of the 35 latest rounds, compared with 23 of 29 previously, so the data doesn't support a reliable market-wide count of unique investors.

Do Earth observation startups need real customers before they can raise big money?

The largest Earth observation rounds increasingly go to companies that can show deployed technology, commercial progress, or government contracts.

ICEYE had established itself as a satellite intelligence supplier before attracting its enormous Series F. Tomorrow.io had completed its first constellation and reported positive NOAA evaluation results before its February financing. Pixxel had six Firefly satellites in orbit and a National Reconnaissance Office contract before raising $100 million.

These companies weren't asking investors to finance a technical concept alone. They could point to functioning systems, external validation, and customers prepared to use their technology.

The money is also supporting broader ambitions. ICEYE is expanding sovereign satellite systems and intelligence services. Tomorrow.io is developing DeepSky while growing its forecasting platform. Pixxel is entering additional sensing technologies, manufacturing, and software.

Investors appear increasingly willing to fund companies that can deliver complete operational systems rather than isolated sensing capabilities.

That doesn't mean every startup needs paying customers before raising money. Seed investments continue, and the database doesn't contain complete milestone histories for each financing. The pattern is clearest among companies seeking major growth rounds.

Is Earth observation becoming a market dominated by a few winners?

Earth observation is increasingly dominated by a handful of well-funded companies, even as more businesses continue to attract investment.

The top five financings represented 70.6% of reported capital in the latest period, compared with 50.4% previously. The top 10 accounted for 86.7%, up from 71.1%.

The concentration is substantial, and satellite infrastructure helps explain it. Manufacturing, launches, ground systems, software, and ongoing operations require enormous amounts of capital. Established operators with government customers can justify investment levels that would be difficult for smaller competitors to absorb.

But there's a competitive consequence. Businesses raising hundreds of millions can expand constellations, secure specialized manufacturing capacity, and pursue sovereign contracts at a scale that smaller competitors may struggle to match.

The growing gap in available capital could become a lasting gap in operating capability.

What really changed over the last 12 months?

Earth observation funding has become stronger, but the biggest improvement is concentrated among companies that are already well established. The nearly 450% increase in reported capital makes the market look far healthier than the underlying 15% growth after excluding rounds above $50 million.

Funding is reaching more businesses, although the early-stage pipeline remains relatively flat. Unique funded companies increased from 27 to 31, while first financings stayed at seven. The extra activity came entirely from follow-on rounds.

Five financings reached at least $100 million, compared with none previously. ICEYE accounted for an enormous share of the increase, while other satellite operators and intelligence businesses also secured major growth capital.

Investor preferences are changing across technologies. SAR and geospatial analytics gained the most financing activity, while hyperspectral imaging lost substantial breadth despite Pixxel's large round. Defense intelligence, weather forecasting, and operational software are attracting serious investment.

The biggest checks increasingly follow proven execution. Satellite deployments, government procurement, and working commercial platforms feature prominently among companies securing substantial financing.

Capital concentration is shaping the industry. A handful of companies control most reported funding, giving them the resources to expand internationally and pursue major government customers. Smaller startups can still raise capital, but they aren't experiencing anything close to the same funding boom.

Earth observation is becoming a better-funded industry for companies scaling real operations. Whether it is becoming a healthier market for new entrants is a much less convincing story.